


The Art of Redamancy

by xxbettysgirlxx



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Friends With Benefits, Older Man/Younger Woman, Southside Serpent Jughead Jones, Teenage Rebellion, The Ghoulies, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2019-01-16 13:08:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 48,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12343290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxbettysgirlxx/pseuds/xxbettysgirlxx
Summary: Redamancy –noun: The act of loving in return.Two strangers find themselves helping each other in more way than one.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by a couple different songs: Guys My Age by Hey Violet, DNA by Little Mix, and Ready For It by Taylor Swift.  
> Just a heads up- Jughead is more of an asshole in this fic. Don't worry eventually he won't be as much of a jerk! Just gotta give it some time and some patience ;)

Riverdale looked beautiful in the fall. The leaves were aging and shedding from the branches that held them and migrating to the ground where they covered it in a layer of crisp, warm colors. Sweaters were coming out from the back of closets and dressers and finding their way onto bodies. Outside the air smelled of pumpkins and apple pies while the sound around them was children giggling as they raced to get in line for the town's annual fair. Riverdale was anything but boring during the autumn season. The entire town was out and about for what seemed like all hours of daylight. There was apple picking, pumpkin picking, a fair that lasted two weeks, corn mazes, haunted house, and even Halloween parties. Betty Cooper remembered riding her bike home from school at the age of ten and taking a deep inhale of the crisp smell of the leaves that crunched under her white bike tires. Her parents had always been strong lovers of fall. Each year the family would make an agenda for the next few months so they were sure they covered everything they had planned to do. Their evenings consisted of fair rides, apple picking, yard work, hayrides, corn mazes, volunteering in bake sales, helping out at food pantries, planning the annual block party, and much more. Betty had always loved fall because of those memories that lingered in her mind and warmed her heart. 

 

Now here she was eight years later, a senior in high school and top of her class. She was balancing high school homework while she led the school paper and attended her cheerleading practices, alongside her job at the local bakery. Somehow she was still able to find time to socialize with her friends between the busyness that was her life. Today was a kind of day that she knew would go by slow. She had spent most of her free periods in the schools library, hoping to find a book to do her research paper on for her Honors English class. She had given up by the time the bell for lunch rang and she grabbed her bookbag and trudged to her usual table to find her best friends Veronica Lodge, Archie Andrews, and Kevin Keller. As she approached, she noticed the three laughing and conversing while discussing their plans for the weekend that was only hours away from their grasp.

 

“Well, look who's showing up to lunch today! Betty Cooper, are you finally ditching those drab sweaters?” Veronica asked her with a dazzling smile as she inspected Betty's pastel jeans matched with a white spaghetti strapped tank top covered by an oatmeal colored cardigan. It was a slight change from her conservative sweaters that dipped barely below her collarbone. The tank top she was wearing was a v-neck, much more scandalous than usual. 

 

She and Veronica became best friends when former debutante moved into town from Manhattan their sophomore year. At first they rivaled one another for the affection of their dear friend Archie, but Betty decided to give him up due to is lack of interest in her. She could see how his eyes lingered on Veronica when they passed in the hallway. Betty noticed how much brighter his smile was when Veronica entered the room. It was chocolate he craved, not old fashioned vanilla.

 

Betty smiled and playfully rolled her eyes as she sat down at the table, “I'm trying to change my fashion sense just a little. I like sweaters, but they're not really me. They're my mother.”

 

Kevin nodded and joined into the conversation, “Mhm and how does Mama Cooper feel about this?”

 

“Well she's completely for it actually…” Betty knew she wasn't fooling anyone, “Okay fine. I changed at school.” 

 

“B, c’mon you are a senior. You shouldn't have to do this.” Veronica insisted.

 

“Why do you think I work so much? I'm saving up for an apartment so I can get out of my house as soon as possible. I love my mom, she means well but because I'm don’t have enough money to move out that means that while I live under their roof that means that I must abide by their rules.”

 

Archie rolled his eyes, “That's so lame. What are their rules?”

 

“She has six major rules. No boys over without another family member in the house. Curfew is midnight on weekends and ten on weekdays. To be able to go to social outings my grades must be above a B+ and my articles should be in the revision stage. No red lipstick. No suggestive necklines. Last but not least, no mentioning of Polly, her twins, or the Blossom family.” Betty named each rule off the top of her head with no hesitation.

 

Kevin's eyes were wide, “Sweetie, you're in prison. No wonder you haven't been able to get past second base! If anyone laid a hand near your boobs, a censor would go off to alarm Alice that her daughter is about to get rough and dirty with a boy!”

 

Veronica nodded in agreeance, “Seriously, B. That's awful.”

 

Betty rolled her eyes at Kevin's comment, “I've done things, guys.I just don't share it with you because it's  _ my _ personal life. It should be between me and that other person.”

 

Betty wasn’t lying to her friends when she told them this. She enjoyed her privacy, she wasn’t one to go around blabbing about who she had blown in the back of a car on a Saturday Night. She had only officially dated two boys and they were complete gentleman to her, which she had appreciated and respected greatly. Except for the fact that they were too terrified by her mother to become intimate with her and she didn’t mean just getting to second base. The boys would barely hold her hand let alone kiss her. As a result, she seemed to gravitate toward the more than  _ scummy  _ guys in Riverdale.

 

Betty was often known to use boys to distract herself from the struggles that went on inside her home. Her most recent distraction was a Senior football player named Chuck Clayton. He was also a recent mistake. She wasn’t looking to have sex with the guy, she was just hoping to get a little action herself. She ended up going down on Chuck and he returned the favor. In theory that sounded like the ending of a pretty good night, Unfortunately, despite his effort, Betty didn’t orgasm. At all. Essentially, Chuck Clayton took Betty’s admission that he wasn’t getting her off and gentle suggestions for other ways for him to touch her as a personal affront and had it out for her from then on. Most of the boys she had been with could have learned a thing or two about the female anatomy, so she wasn’t surprised that Chuck couldn’t make it happen. Websites and Sexual Health articles had always told her to communicate with her partner. She quickly learned to not share her preferences with someone like Chuck. 

 

Archie shook his head, “I can't see you or Trev even getting near feeling each other up. Same goes for Dilton because you guys only had one date.” 

 

Betty shrugged, “Believe what you want, but I've done a lot and I’ll bet you that with the next guy I'll lose my virginity.”

 

“When will there be a new guy?” Kevin asked while playing with his salad.

 

“When one decides to waltz into my life. Anyway, enough with your doubts about my sex life. Who's going to Cheryl's this weekend?” 

 

“I am! I already have a costume planned.” Veronica clapped in excitement. “I'm going to be a devil.”

 

“You and every other girl that thrives to look sexy and be praised with crude comments from her boyfriend. Dressing as a devil or a cat for Halloween is so predictable,” Kevin told Veronica.

 

Veronica sent a glare Kevin’s way and Archie chimed in, “I think you’ll look sexy, Ronnie. But I don’t know if I can make it to the party this year.”

 

“Archie, you have too! Now that she’s the only one who’s living up at Thornhill, she’s decided to go even more extreme than usual! There will be games, dancing, a haunted trail, and more! She’s really wanting to knock this year out of the park. You can’t miss it.” Betty took a bite of her neatly made turkey sandwich. Cheryl Blossom was Betty’s older sisters’ forbidden sister-in-law. When Betty and the gang had been Sophomores she was the hot Senior that every boy had wet dreams about. She had been the captain of the cheer team with long legs, red hot lips, long fiery hair, and great boobs. Her parents died a few years ago and left their entire life savings, the family company, and large, haunting mansion on the hill to her and her twin brother Jason. Jason had married Betty’s older sister, Polly, after he had accidentally impregnated her their Senior year. The Cooper family had disowned Polly and proceeded to act as if their familial association with the Blossom family had never happened. Betty finished chewing and swallowed, “I’m going because she’s kinda part of my family, so I feel obligated. It should be fun, though.”

 

Archie shook his head, “I would, but my mom is in town this weekend. I feel like I shouldn’t stumble home drunk at three in the morning.”

 

Veronica laughed, “Archiekins, please you have to! I’ll wear that one thing for you.” Her eyebrows raised seductively.

 

Archie’s eyes widen as if his mind had just been blown out of his head, “I’ll be there. When does it start?”

 

Betty tried not to gag at the fact they were basically undressing one another with their eyes, “This Saturday and everyone will be arriving there between 9:30 and 10.”

 

“How are you getting out of the house?” Archie asked, curious because he knew there was no way Alice Cooper would have allowed any kind of Halloween shenanigans, let alone a party at Thornhill. 

 

“I haven’t figured that part out yet. If anything I will tell them that I am spending the evening at Kevin’s house. When I’m at Kevin’s I can’t sleepover, but my curfew is extended to two a.m.” She tried to imagine her mother's reaction if she asked to go to a party where minors would be drinking, suggestively dancing, smoking pot, and more than one couple most likely taking advantage of the spare bedrooms. She almost laughed at the thought of Alice's eyes growing wider than saucers and having to sit down to process that her “perfect” daughter would want to partake in such horrendous activities.

 

Kevin smiled wide, “Perks of having a gay best friend. Just tell her that, Betty. I can tell my dad to keep it on the DL.” Kevin stared intently at Betty for a second, “What are you dressing as?”

 

Betty shrugged, “I don't know, I'm going shopping for my costume tomorrow after cheer practice.”

 

“You better be dressing to impress. You should have these boys crawling for you. I don't think you understand how pretty you are,” Kevin stated while picking through his trail mix.

 

Betty gave a humble smile and tried not to be annoyed by her friends that meant well. It's not that she didn't like being told she was beautiful, she took the compliment graciously. What bothered her is that everyone told her she was pretty, everyone told her she was precious, everyone looked at Betty as if she were a six year old at a ballet recital. No one could think of Betty in any other way besides innocent. She wanted someone to at least think she was hot, she wanted to look older and feel older. That was why she was getting rid of the sweaters and showing a little more skin, she wanted someone to notice her for more than just her grades and literary talents. Betty was trying to shed her old skin and emerge as someone who is stronger, happier, and more free. No one seemed to notice, though. To everyone else she was the predictable, stereotypical, girl-next-door. 

 

The bell rang and brought Betty out of her thoughts. The four of them rose and Archie spoke before they could part ways, “I’ll see you all tonight at my gig, right?”

 

Betty did not know for sure know if she would be able to make it to Archie's gig tonight. She was hopeful though because this was the first night they were playing with their replacement bassist. Archie's friend, Drew, was their original bassist but he broke his hand while he was on vacation last week. He'd be out of his cast in a couple months, but until then Archie had found a guy who could play bass and wanted to pick up extra cash. Betty was interested in seeing how his band will play tonight. Their drummer, Reggie, was on the football team alongside Archie. The lead singer and lead guitarist was Archie himself. They were a good band, she was hoping they'd still sound just as good without Drew. “I can hopefully be there. I get out of cheer practice at 4:30, I'm grabbing my costume, and then I'm helping my mom out around The Register until 8pm, so I could make it. I may be a smidge late, though.”

 

Archie's face brightened. “Really? You can come?? You haven't been to any of my gigs so far! It'll be great that you're actually going to be listening to us live and not over a recording through my phone!” 

 

Veronica played with Archie's hair, a move she does whenever she felt inferior with the attention Betty is receiving from Archie, while she looked at Betty “I'll keep you updated on where to sit. Text me what you're planning on wearing!”

 

Betty laughed, “I'll be coming from being around my mother. It's going to be a sweater and jeans.”

 

***

Finding the bar that Archie's band was playing at from her mother’s work was difficult, but getting in was even more so. Archie had told her that he’d be outside to greet her and get her past the bouncer without an entry charge, but she didn't see his red hair anywhere in sight. Instead, she stood outside of the bar glaring up the bouncer who could have cared less about her because she was forgot her ID at home. Betty weighed her options. She could always flirt her way in, but in this outfit she wouldn't succeed. She was wearing a conservative pastel pink sweater that made her feel smothered while she wore olive green jeggings and had her hair in a high ponytail- not your typical definition of sexy.

 

Betty tried to think of other options to gain entry, but stopped when a tall, brooding, broad shouldered man walked out of the bar and nodded his head respectfully at the bouncer. Betty had to admit the guy was attractive, his bone structure looked as if he had been sculpted by the gods. His expressionless face kept him guarded, but Betty still soaked in his features. He wore a flannel that consisted of dark colors, a gray t-shirt underneath, and black jeans with his heavy, black combat boots. She almost had to do a double take when she noticed he was wearing suspenders, they were hanging off of his hips. On top of his t-shirt and flannel he wore a heavy leather jacket, obviously wanting an emphasis on his ‘big and bad’ image. God, why so many layers? He looked dangerous, but Betty didn’t feel threatened by him like others around her did. He towered her in height and she couldn't help but fixate on his hands while he cracked his knuckles. His hands looked muscular and his fingers looked calloused. Upon his right ring finger laid a thick, hefty silver ring. The ring was a crown, each point jaggedly cut. It looked as if it could do some damage if it forcefully came in contact with skin. 

 

His ebony and lazy curls were damp and his hair looked as if he styled it by running his hands through his locks a few times then walked out the door. It was messy, but not in a bedhead kind of way. It was messy in the kind of way that was purposeful, like he was fine with a few strands falling in front of his face. She couldn’t help but study him. His hair was so black that it was close to giving the illusion of being blue. His eyes were cold and uncaring and so blue that they looked like ice. His menacing demeanor made those around him shrink back. The way he carried himself with confidence, strength, and power made those around him quake and made him look as though he couldn’t care less about it. It intrigued her. He was very attractive, she couldn’t deny that. His cheekbones were prominent and his jawline finely cut. Freckles were randomly sprinkled across his face giving his chilling demeanor the slightest bit of warmth if you were really looking. He spoke quietly to the bouncer, though she couldn’t make out much due to the quiet volume of his voice. He spoke low and raspy which made her stomach twist. Something about his presence was captivating to her and though her brain was flashing warning signs, she pushed them aside. She was done giving into the security of her comfort zone.

 

He stopped interacting with the bouncer when he noticed her trying to listen in. His eyes scanned her body and looked amused by what he saw, knowing she wasn’t a threat to the private conversation. He spoke gruffly, “Hey there, Hermione Granger, where’s the rest of the wizard gang?”

 

“Wow, Danny Phantom picked me to patronize? I am so lucky.” Her tone dripped with sarcasm and she couldn’t help but internally sigh.  _ ‘All the hot ones are arrogant douche bags,’  _ she thought to herself with a roll of her eyes.

 

“You wish, Princess. Would you happen to be Archie’s friend?” A smirk grew on his lips as he seemed to be amused watching her slowly get worked up.

 

Betty raised an eyebrow almost challengingly, “Depends on who's asking.”

 

His smirk seemed to be sewn onto his lips and Betty hated herself for suddenly being extremely attracted to him, “I’m Jughead, I’m the bassist for Archie’s band. Apparently he was supposed to wait for you out here but he sent me instead.”

 

“I’m Betty Cooper.“ Betty’s eyes studied his face, “Did you go to Riverdale High?”

 

Jughead shook his head, “I was a senior at South Side High when you were a freshman at Riverdale.”

 

“How did you know that?” Betty looked perplexed. 

 

“Well, I mean, I’m friends with Archie. We practice at his house and I’ve noticed your blonde ponytail a few times at the house next door, so I asked about you. When I visit the North Side you seem to be running around the town with books in your hands and a determined look on your face. So, I have seen you around… Like when my buddies and I snuck into the school and rigged the cheerleaders lockers with paint…”

 

Betty’s mouth dropped as she recalled the day she had opened her locker to encounter a can of blood red paint pouring on top of her. She looked as if she had starred in the movie Carrie. Her parents were livid when they had to leave work and bring Betty new clothes. She later learned that she was not the only victim of the prank, it turned out to be the whole freshman cheer squad had been targeted. Her blonde hair had been stained for weeks. 

 

“Now those feelings of hate and annoyance that bubbled up inside of me when I saw your face make sense.” Betty glared and walked past him towards the inside of the bar. When she looked back to him for just a second she saw an emblem that stood out on his jacket. A snake surrounded by three haunting words that connected to the gang that roamed the streets of Riverdale. He was a member of the South Side Serpents. The South Side Serpents were known to be dangerous. People tried their best to avoid them even to the point of crossing to the other side of the street if they were walking past. If rumours were to believed, to become a Serpent, the initiation was brutal. Betty had never heard specifically what it had consisted of, but she did know that if you went in and somehow passed initiation then you never came out the same person. Their goal was to rip you to shreds then build you back up. They were a powerful group that she had been cautioned about most of her life by her mother. For a second Betty regretted sassing him, worried that her past and current behavior towards him could get her into serious trouble. She shook off the feeling of fear and intimidation. It was exactly what he wanted and there was no way she was going to give him that feeling of success.

 

Jughead helped to navigate her through the bustling, crowd of drunk men and women with his hand low at the base of her back. Her skin came alive at his touch and she could feel her face flush. Jughead only stopped once to detach an intoxicated woman who had decided to cling to his waist and try to whisper dirty nothings into his ear while Betty continued on without him. Once he had removed the woman, Betty was already ten steps ahead of him trying to see over the crowd to find her friends. Jughead sauntered over back to her side “Try having less of a stick up your ass, Cooper.”

 

Betty barely gave him a glance, “Why would you be even slightly concerned with how I behave? Your opinion is nothing to me.”

 

His focus landed on her and she could physically feel him thinking. Maybe it was because he wasn’t used to others talking back to him the way she was or maybe he was just  fed up with her lack of compliance, but his hand quickly lifted to her arm and he firmly pulled her to look at him. “You can act as if I am gum on the bottom of your shoe, as if I could do nothing to affect you, Princess, but when I speak to you and say something you don’t approve of, your nose scrunches up, your lips purse, and your voice gets an octave higher. This here-” he paused and pointed his finger to where she was biting the inside of her cheek, “shows that I actually do have an effect on you.” Betty could feel his breath on her lips and her throat hitched as she buried the buzzing temptation to crash her lips against his. Her eyes were desperate and searching his hoping to find a sign that he had felt the same. Instead she was met with a hardening, bitter look that told her that it was best for her to stay out of his way. It was just the peppy blonde and the cynical brunette sizing one another up, searching for  a weakness to exploit in the other. Goosebumps rose on her arm when their standoff ended and he threw another smirk her way, “Princess, it seems that I do have an effect on you whether you like it or not.”

 

Jughead pointed out Veronica and Kevin to her, but he kept all his attention on her. She almost felt suffocated by the crowd, his gaze, and the intrigued looks and naughty hand motions being directed to her by Kevin as he checked out Jughead from behind.

 

Keeping her voice even, Betty tried to sound confident, but even she could hear that she sounded strangled, “You have no effect on me whatsoever.” 

 

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, Princess. I’m needed on stage, try not to cheer too loud for me.” His sarcasm was obvious. Betty’s eyes lingered on him as he made his way through the crowd to find the rest of the band.  

 

“That won’t be very difficult,” Betty mumbled to herself while moving to her seat near Kevin and Veronica.

 

“Who the hell was that?” Kevin asked immediately, “That hot piece of brooding, leather backed ass was totally into you!”

 

Betty scoffed, “Kevin, stop. It wasn’t at all like that. No matter what you think you saw, we aren’t the biggest fans of one another. He’s a Serpent and he’s a dick.” The music started and Betty turned her attention towards the stage. Jughead looked hot. She couldn’t repress the flutter and tightening in her stomach as she watched him melodically strum his bass guitar.

 

“Okay, so the Serpent part isn’t very good… and he may be a dick but he’s a dick who looks to be amazing with his hands.” The cover band was performing Sweet Emotion and Betty knew Kevin was right. This song had one of the best bass riffs she had heard before and the way he looked to be relaxed and like a natural while playing. It made him somehow more attractive.

 

“Girl, you have to swoop in on him.” Veronica jumped into the conversation. “At least get him for one night, loosen up and lose some of your innocence. One night with a Serpent won’t kill you.”

 

Betty didn’t try to hide her rolling of her eyes, “Yeah, I’ll just put myself at the top of his hit list. Besides, you two need to stop being so concerned with my sex life. I’m experienced, I’ve been around the block a couple times. ”

 

Kevin nodded sympathetically, acting as if he believed her but really not believing her at all, “Sure, babe. We’re just saying, have some fun. Get some dick.”

 

“Lay off me for a little bit, okay?! Jesus Christ! For once I would like to be around you two and not talk about my personal life.” Her two friends fell silent at her outburst. She could have cared less though. 

 

Betty turned away from them and watched the performance. She knew she was staring at Jughead, but she was only slightly embarrassed by it. He noticed when he looked away from their drummer, Reggie, and locked eyes with her. For a moment she felt as if everything was frozen. Her two best friends weren’t beside her, nagging her to try and have a fling. There wasn’t an annoying drunk man that kept “accidentally” bumping into her and “accidentally” brushing her waist. There was just them with Aerosmith as their soundtrack. Betty would not have been too upset about that, except for the fact that he clearly only wanted to annoy her just for shits and giggles. If fate brought them around each other sometime again, maybe she would consider being forward with him. As for now, she would just sit back and allow the bass to rock her world and ignore how good it would feel if he would be rocking her bed all night long.

 

***

 

Betty waited at the table for Archie and Veronica to stop making out so she could have a conversation with her friend about how well his performance had gone. Kevin had disappeared to chase after his own dark haired, leather wearing, bad boy who had been making eyes at him throughout the gig. He was a fellow guitarist and apparently a close friend of Jughead and Archie. Kevin had been more than thrilled when the boy whisked him away. Unfortunately that left Betty with a couple whose tongues were down each others throats and a drunk guy who kept saying her hair reminded him of a sunflower. To make matters even worse, Jughead sat beside her.

 

“Hey there, blondie. I think we got off on the wrong foot.” His tone was flat and sounded as if he was reading off a script. The drunk man reached out to Betty’s hair again, but Jughead gave a hard look at the drunk man, resulting in the man quickly finding somewhere else to sit.

 

Betty rose an eyebrow, “Don’t sound too excited. Why are you suddenly interested in pursuing some sort of friendship with me? Kinda sketchy if you ask me.”

 

“Same reason I’m in this damn band. I owe Archie a couple favors, he made it clear that he didn’t want us bickering.” The way he spoke to her was blunt and dismissive. 

 

“Why do you owe Archie anything?” She poked, ignoring the twinge of something within that made her grumpy that he was only saying this because he was being compelled by their mutual friend.

 

“Personal matters that you need not involve yourself in, Blondie.” He retorted harshly, shutting her up. 

 

Betty was quiet for just a moment, “Does it have to do with you and the Serpents?”

 

“Are you always this annoying? I told you to drop it.” Jughead stared at her in disbelief.

 

“Are you always this controlling?” She spat. Before he could respond she continued, “I can tell you aren’t used to being told ‘No’, but I don't appreciate your condescending attitude towards me. So if you plan to keep treating me this way, you can fuck off.” Neither of them spoke for several seconds. 

 

“See, the people who don’t annoy me and sass me say I am a very easy going person.” 

 

Betty couldn’t help but roll her eyes and scoff at the comment, “That’s hard to believe.”

 

“Some people even say I look like Leonardo DiCaprio when he was younger,” Jughead bragged to her nonchalantly, “They also say I’m charming.”

 

“Funny. I would have thought the word they’d use would be ‘cocky,’” Betty quipped. She didn’t know what reaction to expect from Jughead, but she didn’t expect such a challenging smirk to settle on his lips. She hadn’t noticed until now when her eyes were scanning the room that he had many admirers of different ages. Some were of her age age, some were early twenties, and others were older. That made her gag. Yes, the contrast of his ebony hair and gray-blue eyes were breathtaking, but she hadn't expected cougars to be interested. Maybe it was something about how he carried himself. The confidence he held on his sturdy, muscular shoulders or the way his arms flexed when he squeezed his hands together while deep in thought. She didn’t know. 

 

“You’ve got a quick mouth on ya.” He sat with his forearms resting on the greasy bar table, but his full attention on her. Jughead was ignoring the few women who had tried to come up and talk to him. Betty was never going to admit it to him, but she was impressed he didn’t jump on the opportunity they were offering to him. “If you’re not careful that pretty little mouth of yours could get you into trouble, Princess.”

 

Betty eyes him suspiciously and her tone was unamused, “Thank you, Han Solo. I’ll take your warning into consideration.”

 

Jughead was taken aback at the lack of caution she was taking. “Look, Little Miss Cheerleader, I’m not here to ask you if you wanted to hook up. Preppy, uptight blondes aren’t my type. So, friends?” She figured he had probably meant to have a warmer tone, but instead he sounded bitter. He offered his hand to hers.

 

Betty knew he wouldn’t go away unless she agreed with him. She swallowed her sigh and gave in. “Fine. Acquaintances and that's _only_ in dire circumstances when neither of us have anyone to talk to in a social setting.” Betty shook his hand and couldn’t help but let it linger against her own. The way his calloused hands felt against hers made goosebumps rise up once more on her spine. His gaze was so intensely locked on her and she hated that she could feel her neck flush. 

 

“I’ll take what I can get from ya, Princess.” Jughead had made it clear he had liked a challenge. If only he had known that she was stubborn as hell and was not one to back down from a fight.

 

“It won’t be much, Danny Zuko.” She mimicked his tone. 

 

“We will see about that.” Jughead told her with a glint of mischief in his eyes. He mindlessly played with a curl from his hair that fell in front of his forehead.

 

She ignored him with a roll of her eyes as she rose from the table and looked around for Kevin, who was supposed to be her ride home. Jughead spoke, conflict clear on his face. “Your friend ran off with one of my guys.” 

 

Betty cursed under her breath and rose from the scummy table. She picked up her purse and phone and with that she walked towards the exit of the bar. Jughead followed behind her and she stopped to glare. “Are you stalking me?”

 

“In your dreams. I may not like you, but it’s not safe to walk around the South Side by yourself. Especially since you look frail and easy to take advantage of.”

 

“I can take care of myself, thank you. Besides, don’t you have something better to do? Like dealing drugs or drinking with your fellow criminals?” Betty noticed Jughead’s slender body go tense when she accused he and his fellow gang members of being criminals.

 

“You really don’t know how to watch your mouth, do you?” His tone had become cold, though his face said something else, until he quickly schooled his expression as he studied her.

 

“Rarely,” she shot back. 

 

“B?” Veronica called for her from the entrance of the club, “Want me to give you a ride home? I’m heading over to Archie’s anyway.”

 

Betty’s smile returned as she nodded, “Yeah sure, thanks, Ronnie.”

 

V turned back to the inside of the club to grab her purse and Jughead pulled his keys from his pocket, “Archie’s girl?”

 

Betty simply nodded, her solemn expression returned.

 

“Let me guess, the girl next door marrying the all American boy next door was your dream as a child?” Pity rang through his voice. Pity and a little bit of mocking.

 

“Of sorts.” He wasn’t wrong.

 

“Wow! The pastels, studious lifestyle, the perfect family, and the teasing innocence that you pride yourself on... You’re a walking stereotype,” he told her gruffly, discounting her once again. Betty was hurt, but she refused to let him see that his words stung. She didn’t want to give him that satisfaction. 

 

“I’m glad you can identify with your own kind.”  She started to walk off. “I’ll see you around, Donnie Darko.”

 

“Hopefully, my luck doesn’t get that bad.” He turned on his heels and he was off. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Redamancy –noun: The act of loving in return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! To make it up to you this update is 10,303 words. A huge thank you to @jandjsalmon being my lovely beta even when she is sick and @sweaters-and-crowns for the helpful advice and feedback! You both are awesome and my love goes out to you both! Also, heads up there's a smut warning ;)

Betty Cooper. She was the kind of girl who had soft forest green eyes, perfect posture, and was epitome of the perfect All American Daughter. With one glance Jughead could tell that she was living on the Northside with a white picket fence in her front yard, living alongside her well-paid, picture perfect family, and was more than likely ranked first in her graduating class. She was the exact opposite of Jughead Jones. 

As he walked away from the blonde, all he could think about was the way she smelled like the town's bakery and how delicate her features looked in the light of the parking lot. Jughead shook his head and tossed one leg over the side of his bike to straddle the seat. He lit a cigarette and noticed Betty and her ponytail leaning against Veronica’s car while she waited for her friend to come back out from the inside of the bar. He couldn’t help but chuckle at the way her guard was gone now that she wasn’t around him. Instead of angry glances and witty comebacks, she looked on edge and almost nervous to be alone in the parking lot. He didn’t blame her, this bar wasn’t the safest place in Riverdale. It was right on the border of the Northside and the Southside, but you could tell it was largely affected by the Southside. It was grimy and worn down, nothing about it looked trustworthy. Some of the windows were spray painted over, there were clusters of graffiti littering its walls, and he was pretty sure that the corner next to the bar was occupied by women of the night. No parent genuinely wanted their high school children to come to that bar past sundown. However, he knew that Veronica and Archie must have thrown the ‘I’m 18, I can do whatever I please’ card at their parents. He assumed Betty was under eighteen judging by the way the bouncer wouldn’t allow her in before he got there so she most likely had to sneak out of her house to come out tonight. Once Jughead saw Veronica walk out of the bar and he knew Betty would be okay, he finally pulled away and headed towards his home.

Jughead had never been too interested in girls younger than him, he usually went for girls his age or older. Usually the younger ones weren’t looking for the same thing he was. They looked for commitment while he was simply looking for a quick fuck on the weekends. This time was different though, he couldn’t get the blonde haired beauty out of his mind and it was killing him. Was it the sweaters? Was it the innocence that radiated from her? He shook his head, knowing neither of those were correct. It was the way she didn’t over him. 

Most women he interacted with lusted after him. They hovered and flattered him and Jughead knew he just had that effect on women. He knew the types that would go after him. Most of the time it was the loose girls on the Southside, an outsider from the Northside, random drunken women at the bars, or cougars who just want to get away from their lives for a night and try out a younger man. Betty Cooper was the first one in a long while to back-talk him and not melt to his feet. It drove him crazy but for some reason he couldn’t get her out of his head. He could get any beautiful woman he wanted, but this bewitching golden-haired vixen was leaving him in the dust and giving him nothing. Jughead couldn’t wrap his head around it. If he was being fair, he’d always wondered about the ‘good girl’ type, but seeing how Betty turned her nose the other way was infuriating. The worst of it was that despite her tight ponytail and conservative sweaters that barely let any skin show, he could sense that there was more summering underneath the surface than Betty Cooper let on. He wanted to to know what it was… if she’d let him. Unfortunately, he had no idea how.

Bagging women was one of his few talents. He could write, he was good in a fight, and he could fuck. He’d been told by teachers, by old friends, and even his parents that he would never be any better than a lowlife Serpent for as long as he could remember that he honestly didn’t know how to do anything else and he had a feeling that his normal routine was never gonna work on her.

 

Jughead had never been one to be full of himself. He knew he was a shitty person. He knew how twisted he was on the inside. His story was much like a lot of the kids on the Southside. Jughead Jones used to be a scrawny, nerdy kid - with longer arms and legs than any prepubescent boy needed. He spent his lunch periods in the library with his head buried in a book and mouth full of whatever the cafeteria had to offer him. Everything seemed to change the summer going into his junior year. His body lost its baby chub and suddenly women discovered that he had a sharp jawline and robust shoulders. He shot up six inches to a very respectable 6 feet tall, and bulked up with lean muscle as he worked alongside his father on a construction site. That year, he’d earned himself a leather jacket from his dad’s gang, the South Side Serpents, and suddenly his life became completely different than it had been before.

That fall, when he arrived back at school on the South Side, girls took notice in him. For a guy who had been that quiet, emo book nerd who sat in the back of the classroom, the fact that now girls drooled over the leather that hung off his lean back was invigorating but he secretly longed for a companion- someone who he could have a laugh with. Someone to dance around the kitchen with at two in the morning. Someone who he could genuinely trust. For now the only woman he had in his life was his little sister. He had basically raised her throughout middle school and now high school. His sister, Jellybean, was sixteen years old now and had lived with Jughead ever since his father was arrested five years ago. 

Jughead’s father, FP, had been arrested when Jughead had just turned seventeen. Jughead remembers the cold ground and fresh snow from when he had slipped while following the police officers out of his trailer. He remembered the way he had to be restrained by officers while he watched his father resist his arrest. Jughead remembered holding his sister close while she cried into his chest as they waited to visit their father behind the thick and desolate metal cell bars. Jughead hadn’t known about his father getting caught dealing drugs to Northsiders. He hadn’t known that FP was a suspect in a murder over in Greendale. He hadn’t known that his dad was being charged for arson. There were so many secrets kept amongst that family. That was a reason his mom had left years before. Just one of the reasons though, there were many.

While pulling into his driveway, he took in his surroundings as he waited for his garage door to open. The night was the clearest it had been in weeks, he wished he could stay out and admire the constellations until daybreak. Jughead parked his bike inside the garage and took off his helmet and ran a hand through his hair to loosen his ebony locks. He made his way inside to find his sister surrounded by boxes.

“Jellybean, what the hell? You said you’d wait until I got home before you started to pack up your stuff.”

The dark haired sixteen year old shrugged, “I got bored, Jug. There’s only so much I can do around here before I go completely mad.”

Jughead’s hand gripped the back of his neck as he bit his lip anxiously, “JB, please don’t move in with Mom. What we have here is good! I provide enough for us to have everything we need to survive. You have a good education,” Jughead managed to let out a shaky laugh, “Plus, we’re so broke that colleges will be giving you the best scholarships.”

JB tried to resist the grin that threatened to splay upon her lips, but failed. “Jay… You are twenty one soon and you’re attempting to raise a sixteen year old. You should not have this burden on your shoulders. Okay?”

Jughead’s face fell serious, “You have never been a burden.”

“I know, but wouldn’t you like to meet someone? You shouldn’t have to worry about bringing girls home because you want to ‘preserve my innocence’. Plus, Mom was really wanting to reconnect and I won’t be gone forever. I’ll make sure to visit as much as possible! I am leaving half of my wardrobe here while I take the other half to Mom’s house, so if anything I’ll be coming back to switch out my clothing.” JB nervously toed patterns into the hardwood flooring. She knew this would be difficult for Jughead. When it came to their mother he was never kind. JB didn’t remember much of what happened between her two parents, but that was mostly because Jughead took any heat that deflected their way. He made sure that she wasn’t scarred by their endless bickering and obvious lack of love. He didn’t want her to become numb like he had. He wanted her to have an enjoyable childhood. A happy one. Jughead wanted to give JB everything his parents took away from him.

Jughead chuckled lowly, “Just take all of your clothes.”

“Nah, I know you. If I leave some of my stuff here then you’ll be more at ease. You’ll know I’ll be coming back.”

Jughead pulled the tiny girl into his arms and held her in a firm embrace. “It’s going to be weird not having you around, ya know.”

JB smiled and hugged him back just as tight, “Nah, you’ll find a girl. Once you find a girl who can take your shit, make you laugh, and fully accepts you and your messy past then you can call me to help with wedding arrangements,” she teased as she strolled back to her barely packed boxes. “Let’s turn on a movie and you can help me decide what books to keep here and which ones I can take with me to Ohio.” JB gave him a supportive smile. “Jay, I promise that everything is going to be alright.”

Everything is going to be alright, Jughead repeated to himself as he browsed the bookshelf. 

***

The day had been a whirlwind. Betty had hoped it would have been easy to lie to her mother and go to Cheryl’s party for the night instead of Kevin’s house. However, her mother had given her a list of chores to do before she set a foot outside of the house. Betty felt like a real life Cinderella, but instead of forest animals she had her old stuffed animals that still lived in the chest at the foot of her bed. It had seemed like three years had gone by by the time she was done cleaning her room, cleaning her bathroom, sorting through her personal belongings and making a pile for giveaway, and finishing her article for the school’s newspaper. But finally it was four in the afternoon and Betty was more than ready to dash out of the door.

“Elizabeth, I don't see why you need to take a bag of clothes over to Kevin's house.” Alice Cooper stood in Betty's doorway in a wide, powerful stance and with one hand placed firmly on her hip. Her mother was widely known for her business attire or more formal wear. Her mother insisted that looking your best everyday was key to being successful. ‘No matter how bad we feel, we must dress our best.’ Image was key to the Cooper family. Her mother had expressed how unhappy she was with her daughters late arrival past curfew the previous night. Alice almost wouldn’t let her go to Kevin's until she heard it was going to be for a ‘research project’. In reality, Betty was getting ready for Cheryls Halloween party with Kevin, but her mother was never going to know that.

“Mother, it's not a big deal. Kevin is just wanting to-,” Betty paused for a second, “Dress in drag.” Betty knew she wasn't a strong liar. Of all the lies in the world, of course she picked the one to make Kevin out to be more flamboyant than he actually was.

Alice's hands came off of her hips and instead she crossed her arms over her chest, “Kevin is wanting to dress in drag?” 

Bettys hand tightened on the handle of her bag, “Yeah, is that too crazy to believe?” Betty inwardly winced at how erratic her tone was, she was being too obvious and she knew Alice was going to be onto her. 

Alice glanced down at Betty’s white knuckles coiled around the handle and raised her eyebrow in question and brought her hand out in front of her, “Elizabeth. Hand over the bag.”

Betty opened her mouth to argue but sighed and immediately gave up on the thought of challenging her mother and reluctantly gave over the bag. She sat on her lilac bedsheets and mentally prepared herself to be lectured into the next century.

Alice set the bag down on Betty’s dresser and slowly unzipped it. Her eyebrows were quirked in a mix of surprise and disappointment. “So, what were you planning on going somewhere tonight in this… scandalous black leotard with a bunny tail on it, with these cheap fishnets, and trashy stripper heels? Of course there’s a pair of bunny ears. Oh, what a proud mother I am.”

Betty could feel her face flush crimson. She had planned to be a Playboy bunny, she knew it was playing into her ‘good-girl-trying-to-be-bad-stereotype’, but she could have cared less at this point. However, she was more concerned at the fact her mother was inspecting the raunchy leotard with a cheeky cut that showed more of her butt than her bathing suits do. How could she had been so careless? Her mother was probably planning to drown Betty in holy water. 

“The only reason you are allowed to leave this room tonight is to go to the library on campus so you can do research for your history project and I will be tracking your location the whole time. You are not allowed to see Veronica and Archie for the next week, I assume their influence is the reason for this horrendous choice of Halloween costume and your increased desire for sexual attention.” Alice sighs and her tone softened while she kneeled in front of her teenage daughter, “You may be eighteen, Betty, but that doesn’t mean you’re ready for the things you’re wanting in life. I understand what it’s like to want to be desired, but, I promise you that it’s better to wait than have a fling. You’ll find a guy that respects you and adores you for you, not your sex appeal. Well, he’ll probably love both, but loving the personality is the most important! You will find the right guy, I know you will, but not this way.” She motioned to her inappropriate costume.

Betty couldn’t meet her mother's’ eyes. She only nodded in agreement and hid her face in shame, “I’ll get dressed to go to the library.”

Alice’s proud smile reappeared to show how pleased she was to see the personality she wanted her daughter to have was shining through. “Good. I’ll pack you a snack for you to enjoy while you are there. I’m glad to see you’re investing your time in your studies rather than alcohol and boys.”

***

Betty sat in the library of Riverdale’s community college with a variety of books scattered across the table in front of her. She had her notebook and a pencil in hand while she quickly scribbled down notes that could have mattered less to her. Blah blah blah… Equality is what this country needs to help bring it together… Blah blah blah… She had been at this for hours and had barely made any progress. She had four pages done, but they were awfully written. She checked this time and sighed. It was only 8:18.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a flash of jet black curls and a leather jacket taking a seat in front of her. She looked up and found herself face to face with a beautiful girl around her age. The girl's eyes were the color of an early morning sky. They were a bright, optimistic blue that had a hint of gray lingering along the edges. Her eyes looked soft and as if curiosity naturally coursed through her. Her hair was jet black and dyed teal at the tips. Her hair was bound back by two braids that showed how tiny her face was framed. She was very dainty, it was adorable. She tucked a flyaway strand of hair behind her ear and gave Betty a shy grin, “Hey, you look like you may know a thing or two about physics. Care to help a sister out?”

Betty was caught off guard by the sudden attention she was being given, “Um, yeah of course.” She closed her books and made room for the girl. “I’m Betty, by the way.”

“I’m JB. Are you from the Southside?” JB’s eyes subtly glanced between the two of them. They were complete opposites. JB wore dark hues and vintage band shirts and ripped skinny jeans while Betty wore a frilly camisole paired with a complimentary cardigan and her legs clad with her light wash jeans. 

Betty gave her signature, peppy smile and shook her head, “No, I’m a senior at Riverdale High. What about you?”

“I”m a junior at Southside High. I was dumb enough to take difficult classes this year and I’m kicking myself because of it. Plus, my life has been getting pretty overwhelming, so I’m starting to fall behind.” JB was trying to make it sound as if none of it was a big deal to her, but with the way she nervously played with the cuffs of her sleeves Betty could tell JB wasn’t holding up very well.

“Well... I work Saturdays and Sundays and I have cheer practice on Mondays and Wednesdays then Varsity games on Fridays. I’m free Tuesdays or Thursdays after school, do you want to meet up after school and I could tutor you?” Betty loathed how little time she had to herself. However, she could tell that this girl, JB, could really use some extra help. Betty had always been known to be too trusting of a person, but she couldn’t help it. Besides, she loved to help people. 

“That would be great!” JB’s face lit up, her smile was gracious. She picked up Betty’s pencil and quickly scribbled down her phone number, “Text me. Then we can meet at your place, my place, anywhere on Tuesday.”

“Anywhere but my house.” Betty said seriously. Her mother would be infuriated to discover a Southsider in their house. “I could use some space from my parents. You could say I’m on a pretty tight leash.”

JB’s eyebrows rose in surprise, “You? No offense, but I wouldn’t have expected you to be the type that is on lockdown or untrusted by her parents.”

“Yeah, well, I’m full of surprises.” Betty realized how dull and short her tone was and she quickly flashed a smile in hope of recovering. “I’ll make sure to text you and set up plans for Tuesday.”

Betty had expected JB to leave, but she stayed where she was and looked at the textbooks that laid in front of Betty. “What kind of History paper are you writing?”

“An eight page essay on women’s roles in the Revolutionary War. It is awful. Originally, I was planning on going to a Halloween party tonight, but when my mother found out she basically grounded me.” The two girls were quiet for a moment. “As a kid, I had hoped to have an exhilarating and memorable high school experience, just like in the movies. That dream quickly died after my sister got pregnant as a senior and my mother became a totally different person. My curfew was shortened, my studies habits increased, social outings are an option as long as she approves of the atmosphere and the group I am going with. She makes life miserable sometimes.” Betty didn’t mean to purge all of her anxieties onto JB, but once she started her words wouldn’t stop tumbling out. Now she was embarrassed by her outburst.

JB looked surprised at the sudden venting of her home struggles by Betty. JB looked conflicted for a moment, but soon spoke up, “I know we don’t really know each other…” She paused, debating on if she should speak her thoughts. “I know a party that’s going on tonight. Would you want to go with me? Originally I wasn’t going to attend because I didn’t have any friends to go with, but I’d love to go if you came with me.”

Betty’s eyes widened. “What about your physics homework?” 

“Eh, the party would be much more fun.” Betty had never been to a Southside party, but she had always heard wild reviews. She knew her mother was tracking her phone, but if she turned it off then Alice could no longer track Betty’s whereabouts and she could say that her phone died. Although, running around a sketchy town with a girl she barely knew? That wouldn’t be the smartest choice. To hell with staying in my comfort zone, She thought to herself.

“Oh, what the hell, I’ll go.” Betty smiled wide even though she was somewhat terrified of the possible outcomes of the night. 

“Really? That’s awesome!” JB beamed, “We should stop by my house before we go though. You can’t go to the party wearing that, it’ll attract a lot of negative attention. You can borrow some of my clothes.”

Betty shifted anxiously. “You know…” Betty realized how big of a mistake she may be making. There were too many risks. “I don’t think I should go. My mom snoops around when things start to seem suspicious or out of the ordinary. Plus, what if my phone does actually die and I get lost? Or I end up getting drunk at the party and someone has to drive me home and I stumble inside intoxicated to find my mother waiting for me in our living room.” Betty could have gone on for several more minutes, but JB jumped in.

“Betty, you really don’t have to go. I wouldn’t want to push you into something. I offered because you said you wanted to make memories and have fun. I thought maybe you could make a few great memories tonight.” JB shrugged and aimlessly flipped through her Physics book that she had in front of her.

Betty nodded and silently contemplated her options. “No, you’re right. Let’s go tonight.”

“Are you absolutely positive?” 

“No, but let’s do it anyway,” Betty smiled mischievously. “Like you said, I could make memories tonight. Plus, this essay is due next month, it can wait. But before we leave, I am helping you finish your homework.”

Betty unlocked her phone and quickly typed out a message to her mom. My phone is about to die. I’ll head home once the library closes at midnight. Xx Then promptly shut off her phone and shoved any thought of her mother to the back of her mind.

***

JB opened the door to her apartment. The first thing Betty noticed was the extreme minimalism in decoration. The walls were a clean, smooth ivory with almost nothing hung on them. They had a worn in charcoal couch that looked to be more comfortable than her own bed and a matching loveseat. In the middle of the room was a sand colored coffee table that held a couple different books and a cold, abandon cup of black coffee. The sizable TV was settled in the corner and was easy to see from the couch and the kitchen table. With the layout of the room, the living room connected immediately to the kitchen without a wall to interfer. 

“Sorry the place is kind of scattered, my brother left in a hurry earlier.” JB guided Betty down the hallway to her room. The hallway walls were simplistic and undecorated, it seemed almost lonely. 

“Oh you live with your brother? Was that his truck in the driveway?” Bettys eyes had been instantly attracted to the faded cherry red of the 1970 Ford Bronco that rested in front of the garage. Betty and her father had taken to fixing up old cars together from the time she was little until present. Some fathers and daughters went out to lunch to bond, but Betty and her father bonded over replacing ball joints or fuel filters. She wanted to get her hands on that beautiful, vintage car.

JB smiled, “Yeah, that’s what he uses during the winter. Right now he’s always on his motorcycle.”

“Motorcycle?” Betty looked impressed. “Have you thought about adding a little life to your walls?” Betty teased with a playful smile.

“I always want to paint the walls another color or throw a picture frame on the wall, but he’s weird about it. I think it’s something with a fear of attachment or he never really had an interest in home decor,” She laughed, “As for right now I live with him. I’m moving to Ohio to live with my mom in a couple weeks.” JB opened the door to her room and Betty immediately noticed the difference between JB and her brothers tastes in decor. 

Each wall was a deep sea green but the whole room was decorated head to toe with posters, lights, tapestries, and wall art that spelled out different phrases or quotes. Her room seemed to be the only room garnished. Her closet was sizable with a fairly small selection and limited color options, mainly consisting of black, gray, and white with the occasional red and blue flannel thrown into the mix. Betty couldn’t help but grin at the sight of the collage of Pink Floyd, Aerosmith, Twisted Sister, AC/DC, Queen, and many other artists of the past decades pinned to one wall. Her queen bed was a covered with a sheet that was a simple geometric pattern that consisted of the colors baby blue and ash gray. Above her bed frame in thick black blocked letters was Wait for me somewhere between reality and all we’ve ever dreamed. Across from her bed was a work desk equipped with a bookshelf. The bookshelf looked to usually inhabit many different types of books was somewhat empty. On her neatly organized desk was a laptop with a plethora of stickers many that incited rebellion, going against the status quo, and included quotes from various TV shows and movies.

“Are you emotionally attached to your pastel aesthetic?” JB asked while she shuffled through the limited amount of apparel that was offered in her closet. 

Betty almost laughed. If she could she would burn these sweaters. “No, I’m not attached at all. What kind of clothes are you thinking?”

JB thought for a moment and then pulled a box out from under her bed. “Okay, so I have some clothes that you may like. They’re hidden because my brother can be a little overprotective of me.”

Betty raised an eyebrow in question, “Oh, really?”

“He’s protective over me if my clothes are provocative. He’ll get a little on edge because you know how teenage boys can be when they see a girl in a short skirt.”

Betty nodded, “So, what do you suggest I wear?”

JB smiled mischievously, “Well, my brother isn’t going to the party tonight so I’m wearing this.” She picked out a pair of ripped black jeans with deep, clinging plum crop top that had a plunging neckline and topped with her plain black leather jacket. Then she pulled out a sinfully red, mini dress. “I’m thinking you could make men beg with this tiny dress, a thin black belt to accentuate your waist, and a pair of black platform Dr. Martens. Plus, you’ll look hot with a black choker and a deep shade of red lipstick. You’ll be the definition of 90’s grunge.”

Betty’s eyes widened, “Oh wow… You know what? I’m just going to trust you.”

“Probably a bad choice, but I appreciate your blind faith.”

****

When Betty originally pulled up to the house party on the South Side she almost ran in the other direction. She had imagined this to be another high school party equipped with kegs of beer and cheap vodka and a maybe seventy teenagers in the house. Instead she pulled up to a sketchy house filled with teenagers and adults that were most likely in their mid twenties who looked intimidating and to be enjoying their alcohol. Betty and JB had passed the doorway and Betty realized that a majority of the party's’ attendees were Southside Serpents. JB was surprisingly calm about the scene in front of them. She followed the raven haired girl through the grinding bodies and smoke that filled the air to the kitchen, “JB did you know that there were going to be Serpents here?” Betty’s voice was rushed and low. She didn’t know why she was suddenly nervous around the Serpents, but she couldn’t help but remember the illegal stories she had heard about the group.

JB giggled while pouring herself a shot, “Yeah, I knew. Don’t worry, you could say I’m on pretty good terms with them. I know them from school and some other activities.” JB put the shot glass to her lips and allowed the bitter liquid to fall quickly down her throat. “They’re like my family.”

“Are you sure it’s okay for me to be here? I don’t see any other Northsiders.” Betty subconsciously gnawed on her thumb nail. It was a nervous habit of hers that she had been trying to break.

“I promise you’re fine. Relax and have fun, Betty! Have a drink and dance with me!” JB threw back another shot and poured herself a beer. Betty suddenly regretted her impulsive decision of trusting a stranger. How could she have been so naive? For all she knew, this night could go downhill and the police could show up! She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and poured herself a beer from the keg and looked up to respond to JB but found she was no longer there. Betty felt her blood start to pump and her breath quicken. She was alone. In a house filled with Serpents, alcohol, and drugs. Betty leaned her back against the kitchen counter while her hands gripped the countertop. The music was so loud that it made the house shake, she could feel every bass drop or drumbeat rip through her body. The cloud of smoke that seemed to linger in every room smelled of cigarettes and marijuana. Betty closed her eyes for a second, she couldn’t have a panic attack here. Not now. 

Betty’s thoughts were interrupted when the music stopped mid verse and voices began to echo off the walls in what sounded like a heated argument. She hesitantly made her way from the kitchen to the living room and squeezed through the crowd until she was in the front to see what was going on. In front of her eyes stood a Serpent and Riverdale High jock standing toe to toe staring each other down with flames of hate burning in their eyes. The room was quiet as everyone waited for one boy to make the first physical, violent move.

“Listen, Northside. I’ll let you go without a scratch if you leave now. If you try to stay, you may have more than just a busted lip.” The Serpent snarled. He was tall with blonde, sandy hair and a ridged scar down his left temple and connecting to his cheek bone. He physically looked to be no older than twenty four, but Betty could tell by the look in his eyes that he had experienced more than he should have at his age. 

“I didn’t come here to fight. I came here wondering where the hell my Jingle Jangle is. Your boy,” The Riverdale High Varsity jock wore his letterman jacket and a cocky smirk on his lips as he pointed to a younger, and most likely newer, Serpent. “Was supposed to deliver it to me today, but he didn’t come through. So this order is on you.”

Ther blonde Serpent’s bitter, cold laugh made Betty’s stomach twist, “You’re dreaming, kid. I know the allowance your daddy gives you is enough to pay for the delivery. My boy, Daulton, waited for you by the old oak tree at Sweetwater River and you never showed up. He was there at three, just like we discussed.”

“Funny. Because I remember us specifically saying five thirty.” A taller boy in the tacky blue and mustard gold colored Varsity jacket stepped forward. Chuck Clayton in all his glory stood in front of his football team. Chuck Clayton was Betty’s age and was known for being athletically gifted and exceedingly popular with the other high school girls. He was a cocky, self obsessed, misogynistic teenage boy that took advantage of girls insecurities and used them to his advantage. That was how he got her and that was why she stayed with him. He acted as if he cared and gave her the attention he knew she craved. In the end, she was just another pawn. Another medal. Another point in the football teams ‘playbook’ where they were known to record every successful sexual encounter with a girl. She knew her name was in their book too many times.

“Clayton, you know damn well it was three and that you owe us $280. Plain and simple. It’s been this way for a year now.” 

Chuck stepped forward to invade the Serpents personal space and she could tell that he was enjoying testing the Serpents boundaries. A group of Serpent's behind the blonde took a step forward ready to defend their family, but before Chuck could respond a deep, stern voice cut through the thick tension that filled the room. 

“Chuck Clayton, why am I not surprised to see your ass here trying to steal from me?” The demanding voice came from the top of the steps. Jughead Jones descended down the steps with an arrogant smirk plastered on his dumb, handsome face. 

“I’m not stealing from you, Jughead. You failed to deliver so naturally I would like your gang to pay me back for the unnecessary stress and struggle my boys and I have gone through to just get a little something to help us have a good time.” Chuck didn’t look intimidated like the rest of his crew that cowered behind him. Betty raised an eyebrow at the fear that radiated from their bodies. From where she was standing, she could see both Chuck and Jughead facing off. Betty hated herself for admiring Jughead in the better lighting of the house. She had met Jughead in the darkness of the club and dim streetlights, but now the nearby lamp displayed the details of his she had somehow seemed to miss. She noticed the small scar that laid above his upper lip and danced whenever he spoke. Betty was now noticing the difference between his freckles. He had a faint peppering of freckles across his nose and cheeks. She was now realizing the freckles that she adored that lingered down his neck and were more noticeably sprinkled at random upon his cheeks and chin happened to be moles. 

Betty found herself keeping her bottom lip captive between her teeth as she examined his choice of attire for the evening. His hair was a purposeful mess, it’s almost as if he knew how crazy it drove the women around him. He allowed his few wavy, strands to hang in front of his eyes, but when exasperated he would run a hand through his bangs to remove them from his vision. He wore a gray long sleeved shirt that clung to his body and outlined his abdominal and pectoral muscles nicely. His sleeves hugged his flexed biceps as he crossed his arms across his chest as he stood in the middle of the room listening to the bullshit that spilled from Chuck's mouth. Jughead chuckled darkly while he rubbed the back of his neck, acting as if he was actually listening to the high school boy and flashing the ragged cut of his heavy, silver crown ring.

“Oh, we failed to please you? I am so very sorry.” Jugheads venomous tone dripped with sarcasm. “You pull this shit every other deal. You will never get a discount or ‘freebie’. We don’t give a shit if you are satisfied with our performance, because you’ll always come running back for our services. This game you’re playing isn’t clever. It’s predictable and childish and I know every move you’ll throw our way, so don’t you dare think for a second you are somehow a step ahead of us because I will always be three steps ahead of you.” Jughead was closing the distance between himself and Chuck, the blonde Serpent stepping back to allow Jughead to take the reigns. Betty saw Chuck’s confidence start to falter as Jughead glanced down at him as if he was nothing. “You will never be as smart as you think you are. On the Northside you are the football coach's son, all-star athlete, and teachers favorite. But here? Here, you are nothing.” Chuck flinched at the demeaning words that spewed from Jughead’s mouth. “So don’t you ever go around believing that we will do you any favors. You know damn well that we don’t let Northsiders in here. You’re lucky my men haven’t kicked you out yet.”

“Listen, snake, if you keep threatening me I can take this straight to the Register. You know Alice Cooper would eat this up.” Chuck threatened, his eyes flickered away from Jugheads revealing weakness.

Jughead scoffed, “You would be busted for drugs too, dumbass.”

For a second Chuck’s eyes flashed to the ground, but then met Betty’s. The hair on Betty’s neck stood straight up and she felt her stomach drop as his eyes turned bitter and cruel, the smile that grew on his face was sinister. “So, you guys don’t let Northsiders in? I don’t know, Jones. I’m pretty sure I’m looking at my old fuck buddy, Betty Cooper.”

Betty stood there frozen as all eyes fell on her. Jughead stared at her and she couldn’t read what was going through his head as he looked at her up and down. “Yeah, she was on the list tonight. She an exception.” He lied as he torn his gaze away from her.

Chuck smirked as he walked away from Jughead to tower above Betty, “Is that right? Well, looks like little Betty is spreading her legs for the Serpents now? I always knew you were desperate for validation, but I never knew you would stoop so low. I mean, look at you-”

Betty’s jaw clenched and through her teeth she interrupted him, “Fuck off, Chuck.” She resented how she couldn’t meet his gaze.

“Watch yourself, Chuck. Don’t let your big mouth get you into trouble,.” Jughead warned while stepping between Chuck and Betty. She wasn’t sure why he was defending her. From their encounter last night she had assumed Jughead didn’t like her either.

Chuck cracked a crazed, possibly jealous, smile as he looked between Betty and Jughead, “Oh, I see how it is.”

Betty furrowed her eyebrows in concern, like she was afraid of what was going to come out of his mouth, “How what is?”

Chuck looked at Jughead, “Funny thing about Elizabeth Cooper. She and I hooked up for a while. She was so desperate for attention and some type of affection that she crawled her way back to me no matter what. I could ignore all her calls and texts, but I could still get some during fourth period. It's like I would toss her to the side, but at the end of the night she'd still be waiting for me beneath the sheets.” Jughead’s jaw looked to be painfully clenched as he glared daggers at Chuck. Betty could feel the tears bubbling up, she was using all of her power to keep them down. 

“However, one day something inside her snapped and she started telling me how ‘I couldn’t please her’ or how ‘I was verbally abusive’. The funny thing was… She still got on her knees for me.” The tears were freefalling. Her mascara was streaking down her flushed cheeks. Betty could feel Jughead’s eyes on her. She was not embarrassed that Chuck had announced their intimate life to many strangers. She was not upset that he was implying she was easy. She was crying because of the disappointment she held to herself. “So, have fun with her, Jones. She really knows how to put that mouth the use. She’ll make a great Serpent Slut.” 

Chuck had opened his mouth to continue, but he was cut off by Jughead’s fist coming in contact with his cheek. The loud crack sent Chuck falling to the floor and the Varsity players lunging at Jughead while he was throwing punches left and right at Chuck who was still on the floor. The other Serpents shoved the high school boys away to help fend them off of Jughead. Jughead was on the ground with Chuck pinned beneath him, delivering blow after blow. Chuck managed to take advantage of Jughead being caught off guard by the Varsity players and threw him off of his body. Chuck punched Jughead on the nose, but Jughead looked almost unfazed by the punch even as blood started to pool from his nose. Chuck punched Jughead once more and Jughead stumbled backwards. Betty was crying and begging for the two of them to stop fighting. Jughead drew his arm back and gave him a swift, painful punch to the eye and him falling to the ground. Jughead gripped Chucks collar and delivered punch after punch to the boy. He would have continued, but felt Betty’s tiny hands pawing at his shoulder and he heard her pleas. He reluctantly dropped his hand when saw that Chuck was now lying unconscious on the faded carpet. He looked at Betty Cooper. The one who had been begging and tugging on his shoulder in hope he would stop hurting the one she once had been intimate with. Her angelic aura was plagued by humiliation and a mascara stains. He almost hadn’t recognized her earlier with the mysterious makeup and scandalous dress. 

The Serpents were able to get the Northsiders and their unconscious leader out of the building, but the party died promptly after that. Betty watched as JB was dragged out with the crowd, but seemed to be with a group of friends. A few stayed and went down to the basement, but most of the gang had left. Which left Jughead and Betty standing alone with silence weighing down on them heavily. Jughead rubbed the sore part of his jaw, while his nose bled and stained his T-shirt.

“Let’s get you cleaned up.” Betty’s voice was hoarse as she headed towards the nearest bathroom to help stop his nose from bleeding. 

Jughead followed close behind her into the bathroom, “I can do this myself. Go home.”

Betty was thrown off by his cold demeanor, “Wow. So you decided to defend me, but now when I try to reach out and help you, you push me away. God, make up your mind!”

Jughead looked puzzled, “Make up my mind?”

“Yes. Decide if you hate me or not,” Betty wet a washcloth with warm water and she placed her hands on his chest and gently pushed him back so he was sitting on the edge of the bathroom counter. She stood between his legs and gently dabbed at the cut above his eyebrow. He couldn't help but look surprised at the position they were in.

“I don't hate you. I defended you because your ex-fuck buddy was slandering you. He was being a dick.” Jughead winced at the contact of the washcloth. “He should know his place.” The two of them sat in comfortable silence and she tended to his wounds.

“I'm a virgin,” her voice was soft and distant. It was like she was lost inside her own thoughts.

Jughead eyebrows furrowed in confusion toward the relevance of her whisper, “What?”

“Chuck had said that after he kicked me to the curb that I would still show up in his bed and he called me his fuck buddy. He and I never had sex.” Betty's voice cracked near the end. Betty tried to be as careful as possible as she wiped away the blood from his nose that had dried.

Jughead face softened, “I’m sorry that he said all of that stuff about you. Why were you even here tonight?”

Betty shrugged as she looked up from his scrapes and into Jugheads eyes, “I just wanted to have some fun. I met a girl tonight and she told me about this party so I figured I'd take a chance and come...” 

Jughead smiled sadly, “I guess it wasn't too fun of a night?”

Betty couldn't help but let out a laugh, “The opposite, actually.”

Jughead took the wet cloth from her hands and gently wiped away the mascara that stained her cheeks, “There you go.” He put the cloth down then reached into his back pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He placed one between his lips and lit it. He inhaled deeply then blew the cloud of smoke to the side of them.

Betty cracked a smile, “Thank you, now I don't look like a total wreck.”

Jughead poked her side playfully, “I thought you rocked the whole ruined mascara look. Definitely different from the Betty Cooper I met last night at the bar.”

Betty laughed and tilted her head as she gazed at him, “Thanks, I was actually really nervous to wear this whole getup. The make up and the short dress and my hair down? It's not usually me. This is a completely different side of me.”

“I think the two sides of Betty Cooper I've seen are pretty remarkable.” His tone had melted and was softer than she had heard. He sounded as if he was genuinely wanting her to feel better. Jughead had a boyish smile on his face, filled with pure intentions. As she looked at him, she felt her heart truly melt for the first time since her crush on Archie.

Her eyes glanced down at his parted lips as he placed cigarette between them before he took a deep breath. “Could I try it?”

Jughead looked at her surprised, “You want to try to take a hit of my cigarette? Is this going along with your whole good-girl-gone-bad rebellion that we see in every other movie, Blondie?”

Betty almost rolled her eyes. Instead she reached out and took the cigarette from his mouth herself and placed it between her lips and inhaled deeply which resulted in her coughing up a storm and Jughead laughing as he took his cigarette back from her. “You make it look a lot cooler,” she coughed.

Jughead smiled smugly, “Well thank you, Princess. Everyone coughs after their first go at a cigarette.” He took a final drag then extinguished the stick in the sink that had water resting around its drain. Betty didn’t mind how close they were to each other and he didn’t seem to mind either. She noticed how his hands would want to go to her waist, but he would hesitate and keep them by his thighs.

Betty closed the space between them when she reached forward when she gently rubbed her thumb across his bottom lip to remove the stain of red lipstick that had lingered on the cigarette. Jughead froze as she touched his lip, but his eyes had darkened as they gave her his full attention. She brought her hand down, but instead of bringing it back down to her side she allowed it to rest on the top of his knee. Jughead recognized the devilish glint in her eyes, “Someone's feeling touchy tonight. How much did you have to drink?”

Betty laughed, “Only like half a cup of beer. I’m being touchy because I want to be.” His eyes narrowed as he saw her lip being drawn between her teeth and Jughead found himself picking at his jeans to keep his hands from wandering. He was just now noticing how inviting her lips looked and he was struggling to restrain himself from taking her face in his hands and kissing her until she came up gasping for air. 

His eyes fell to follow the curves of her body that were so beautifully hugged in the dress she had chosen to wear tonight. The dark cranberry against her creamy skin was enticing and left him in a trance. Her legs were almost as tempting. The exposed skin made Jugheads mind spin as he imagined her lying on his bed with nothing to cover her bare skin as she writhed underneath his touch. The thought of mouth sucking and biting its way down the column of her throat while he left beautiful marks that would stain her skin for days made goosebumps rise on his skin. He imagined himself kissing up her open thighs as she exposed her most intimate place to only him while his name spilled from her lips as his tongue made her rake her hands through his hair as she saw stars. "You're playing a dangerous game, Betty..." 

“Lucky for you I like games.” The innocent voice broke him from his lustful daydream. He couldn’t help but notice that her eyes flickered between his eyes and mouth but what really shocked him was when her tongue instinctively licked her bottom lip. Betty saw the darkness in Jughead’s eyes that he was failing to hold back. Without a second thought, Betty placed a soft, chaste kiss on his lips. The kiss was quick, but once she pulled away the air around them seemed to crackle with electricity. When he didn’t respond she took a hesitant step away from him, suddenly embarrassed at her forward actions. Neither of them spoke for several seconds. Betty’s heartbeat thundered inside her chest so loud that she wondered if he could hear it too. All he was giving her was a look of confliction.

Betty enjoyed having a sexual relationship as much as the next person. Who didn’t like having an orgasm? However, she hadn’t felt this strong of an attraction for someone before. Even when she had met him at the bar, she felt her toes tingle in excited anticipation. As much as he’d irritated her, she couldn’t help but be drawn to him. She could feel her want for him building up in her core and it was just from a simple look. How did he have this affect on her? Although, now she felt anxiety rising from the pit of her stomach and getting stuck in the base of her throat because of how little reaction he had given to her after her impulsive choice to kiss him. 

Suddenly, Betty found herself pinned between the wall and Jughead’s body while his hands firmly gripped her hips and pulled her to his chest. “Wha-” she was cut off by his lips colliding with hers. Their lips moved hungrily for one another, his tongue already curling itself around hers. One of her hands clung to the back of his neck as the other tangled itself around his locks and tugged roughly. Their lips were caught in a passionate dance filled with lust and the overwhelming need for satisfaction. Betty found herself welcoming the increased warmth that swelled in her stomach paired with the pooling ache that burned between her thighs.

As soon as the kiss had started it was already ending. Betty broke away from Jughead, her chest heaving with every pant. “Shit, shit, shit. I have to go. My curfew was midnight.” She could see from his phone that it was already one in the morning. She knew her mother was probably sitting in the living room waiting for her to arrive home.

Jughead began kissing down her jaw, “No, please, stay,” He nipped and sucked his way down her neck and throat while leaving a mark at the base of her ear that made her whimper and grip his hair tighter as her head rolled back. His voice was rough and deep with lust, making her wetter than Chuck ever could, “Stay just a little longer. I swear, I’ll make it worth it.” Betty’s back arched off of the wall at his words and she quickly nodded to him. That was when Betty no longer cared for her punishments. She no longer worried about her mother’s harsh words. She only cared about Jughead’s mouth sucking away at her pulse point, making her repeat his name like it was a prayer. 

His hands snaked around the bottom of her thighs as he picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He placed her on the counter and quickly made himself comfortable between her legs and kept his hands at her waist, he was too hesitant to put them anywhere else. Betty couldn’t help but chuckle at his hesitation, “I do appreciate you trying to be a gentleman,” Her eyes were filled with sin as she kissed down the column of his neck, leaving lipstick stains in her wake. “But I want you to touch me, Juggie. I need you to touch me.” She whined against neck while her hips unconsciously rocked against the counter, wanting nothing more than friction to ease the ache. 

Jughead moaned at her pleas and quickly complied to her wishes. He almost had to pinch himself to see if he was dreaming when he saw her hands go to the back of her dress and roll the zipper down. She quickly pulled the dress over her head and threw it to the floor without a care in the world. Her lace ebony bra was pushing her breasts together in a fashion that made his mouth water. Jughead left messy open mouthed kisses across her collarbone. Her melodic pants and moans echoed off the bathroom walls and Jughead wished he could hear that sound everyday in his own home. Jughead wanted to bring her home and fuck her in every room in his house to see what her pleas sounded like in every room he had. Jughead’s eyes searched hers as her fingers fumbled with the clasp of her bra. She quickly nodded, giving him permission to remove her bra. He undid the clasp and threw it alongside her dress that lay in the corner of the bathroom. 

“I don’t want to take your virginity here, Princess,” Jughead told her as she removed his shirt and added it to the pile. “But is it okay if I taste you?” He tried his best to search her eyes for any hint of uncertainty. However, Betty wasn’t looking into his eyes. She couldn’t bring her eyes away from the beautifully carved body that stood in front of her. Chuck was a typical jock when it came to his body. He had rugged, heavily built muscles that made every cheerleader oggle after him. However, Jughead was lean with toned muscles. Betty wasn’t embarrassed that she was gawking over his body. His biceps were well defined and his abs were chiseled and complimented by his deep v lines. She could have sworn that he was almost statuesque. What intrigued her most was the large snake tattoo on his left arm. The Serpent's head rested on his pec and was coiled down his arm. The snake's fangs were bared and seemed to be dripping, what she assumes was, venom. Betty tore her eyes away from his body and faced a smug Jughead. She thought back to his question and promptly nodded as she pulled his lips back to hers. The kiss wasn’t as lustfully eager and rushful as the previous. This kiss was filled with trust and innocent excitement. 

Jughead broke away from her lips and trailed his lips down the valley of her breasts as his hands squeezed one of her breasts while his tongue came over to flick the rose dusted peak, which made Betty arch into him again and moan while she fisted his ebony hair, “Juggie, please! I need you!” Betty wasn’t usually one for begging, but gave in for him.

Jughead smirked and dropped to his knees then held her hips in a bruising grip as he pulled her forward so her ass was perched on the edge of the counter, a gasp escaped her swollen lips. Jughead’s hands traced their way from her ankles to the tops of her thighs, stopping close to her panties. Jughead’s pupils widened when her saw her seductive black barely there lace panties. Betty started to close her legs due to insecurity washing over her. “Jug…”

Jughead stopped her and his voice was thick with lust, “Betty Cooper, you are sexier than you know. You should not be embarrassed.” He placed a passionate kiss and hooked his fingers through the waistband of her underwear and slid them off of her legs and placed them in the back pocket of his jeans. Their tongues curled around each other and his mouth swallowed her moans as he stroked circles on her wet heat. His other hand caressed her breast and rolled the puckered peak between his index finger and thumb. Jughead broke away from her lips and he nipped and licked his way down her chest and stomach until he came across her pelvis. Betty had one hand that seemed to be permanently wrapped around his raven locks as the other was tightly gripping the countertop as he sucked a deep purple mark on each side of her pelvic bone then started his way up her thighs. Betty couldn’t remember a time where she could have been more turned on than she was then. His piercing gray eyes glanced up at her through his long eyelashes as his tongue started to lap over her. 

“Oh, Juggie,” she moaned wantonly as his finger pumped rhythmically into her core and his tongue drew patterns across her clit. She gasped when she felt him add a second finger to curl inside of her and then his teeth nip at her sensitive bundle of nerves. Betty wasn’t even trying to be quiet anymore. She could have cared less if any other Serpents overheard them, if they were experiencing what she was then they would be loud as well. Her hips started to lift towards his mouth which resulted in him removing his fingers from her core and wrapping both hands in a vice grip around her hips to keep her still. Her cries and pants increased as his tongue dipped inside her and his thumb went to rubbing quick, tight circles on her clit. Jughead couldn’t help but love the way she plead and cried for him to pleasure her. He wished that he could have her legs wrapped around his head all the time. He would die a happy man if the last thing he experienced was her taste of strawberries and cream and the feeling of her thighs tightening around his head when he hit that one spot that made her squirm and open her mouth in a silent scream. 

Soon Jughead had Betty seeing stars and clenching around his tongue and his name being yelled mid-orgasm. He wished her moans and cries were a constant soundtrack played within his life. Jughead licked his lips after he helped her through her orgasm and then stood to his feet, “Are you okay?” The blonde beauty had a sheen of sweat on her forehead and her body has covered in dark purple bruises from where she had let his mouth explore her body, but somehow she had never looked better to him. Her lipstick was smeared and he knew it was all over him, but he didn’t mind.

“I’m better than okay,” Betty smiled wistfully as she attempted to stand and redress herself. Jughead assisted her and showed her to the front door.

“So…” Jughead awkwardly shifted on his feet, “I’ll see you around?”

Betty smirked and pulled him close and teased his lips with hers, “Depends on your luck, Jones.” She pushed him away before he could place a kiss on her lips and a smile grew on his face as she walked out of the trashed house. “Hey, Blondie! I don’t have your number!” He called after her.

Betty turned around and walked backwards to her car, “I know. You haven’t earned it yet!” She teased.

“I just gave you an orgasm, was that not enough?” He asked with a laugh.

“Oh, Jughead Jones, you’ll just have to figure it out yourself!” She climbed into her car and drove away, leaving Jughead alone in the doorway smiling like an idiot. He chuckled to himself, Betty Cooper, you are something else.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The feedback I got on the last chapter has absolutely stunned me! Guys, you are all so amazing and thank you for your support!

Alice Cooper had not been very thrilled when Betty stumbled back into their house at almost two in the morning wearing a scandalous dress, dark makeup, with hickeys decorating her neck. Alice couldn’t tell if she was livid, disappointed, or concerned with Betty’s behavior. She had tried talking with her daughter,  having an open and honest conversation but each conversation turned into a screaming match between the two with her husband Hal sitting at the table watching from the sidelines not saying a word. Alice wanted a strong relationship with Betty, she truly did, but her daughter’s unruly behavior was becoming too reckless and too much like Polly’s before she became pregnant. 

 

“What the hell is this?” Alice questioned as she stood up from the chair in the living room in her baby blue nightgown and matching slippers. “It is two hours past your curfew.  _ Two hours!  _ You don’t answer my text or calls, and I know damn well that your phone isn’t dead. Then you come back home dressed in clothes that aren’t yours and with hickeys all over your collarbone?! So, tell me,” Her voice was cold and short. “What the hell is this?”

 

Betty pressed her hand against the wall for balance as she carefully took off her heels one by one. She contemplated what to tell her mother, there wasn’t much room to lie. “I went to a party. It wasn’t the Blossom party. I had a good time and it’s seems like I’m only allowed to enjoy my teenage years when I sneak out from under your control.” She hadn’t meant to give Alice any sass, but it was too late to take any of it back now.

 

Alice cocked an eyebrow at her youngest daughter and placed her two hands on her hips in an intimidating fashion, “I’m sorry that my paying for your car insurance and your phone bill and your electricity and your food and your water is being in ‘control’. I sound like such an awful mother!” Alice snapped sarcastically.

 

Betty stood up straight, “Glad you finally figured it out. I have been trying to tell you for years.” She tried to walk past Alice and up the stairs, but was stopped when her mother's cold hand wrapped around her bicep and roughly spun her around to look her in the eye. Betty felt her stomach drop at the sight of the fire that burned behind her mother’s eyes.

 

“Elizabeth Cooper. I have been nice. I have been understanding. I have given you too many chances to count.” Alice’s anger was radiating from her body and her grip was like a vice around Betty’s arm.

 

“No, you haven’t! Mom, you keep me locked up here and I’m sick of it! I want freedom and I don’t want you to treat me like a child!” Betty plead, trying to wrench her arm free.

 

“You are a child! You just pranced around town tonight with a group of strangers for the hell of it! You are behaving exactly like a child! You don’t think! You don’t care about the others around you or what other people think of you! You just care about smoking pot and having sex with some boy who is looking for an insecure and easy girl to get with! This whole act you put on is pathetic! You are _just_ _like_ _Polly_!” Her words felt like poison to Betty and she could feel the tears attempting to surface. 

 

“I am not Polly. I’m Elizabeth, I’m Betty.” Betty’s voice wavered. “And I am not easy.”

 

“Looking at your neck tells me otherwise.” Alice quipped. “If you step one more toe out of line then you are out of this house. Do I make myself clear?” Her voice was emotionless.

 

“You would never kick me out like you did with Polly.” Betty challenged while straightening her back and standing taller.

 

“You’re acting like her. Why would I treat you any different from your sister?” Betty had to admit that stung. Actually, that felt like a knife in her gut, but she couldn’t show any weakness towards her mother.

 

“If you kick me out then it’s just you and dad. You and I both know that would be hell to you.”

 

“Being left with  _ him  _ would be better than allowing you to continue to besmirch the Cooper name. You are ruining this family's reputation and we have had enough of it.” She sneered. That insult hurt Betty even more than the last.

 

Betty opened her mouth, but before she could speak she turned away from her mother and calmly walked to her room while the walls around her heart thickened. She quietly closed her door and sat on her bed as a sob lodged itself in her throat, begging to be released. Betty gritted her teeth and dug her fingernails into her palms. She wasn’t registering any of the pain that should have been shooting through her nerves. Betty took a deep breath and released her palms and relieved the tension in her jaw then she rose from her bed and made her way to her bathroom to wash the makeup off of her face. 

 

Her reflection was nothing to be proud of. She had a few hickeys on her neck and her lipstick was smeared along with her hair being a tangled mess. Betty looked like shit. She looked like the true whore that she was. A shaky sigh escaped her lips and she brought her palms under the sinks faucet. The warm steady stream washed away the blood that trickled out of the ragged cuts. She cautiously put her hair up into a messy bun. Betty winced as she poured her face wash into her hand and it came in contact with the gashes. She sighed and looked at the girl on the other side of the glass,  _ Pathetic? Slut? Maybe her mother was right.  _ After she washed the makeup off of her face, Betty stripped out of her clothes and pulled an oversized t-shirt over her head as she retreated to the comfort of her bed.  _ Maybe that’s all I am.  _ She allowed the sheets to encase her as the tears finally escaped her eyes and her world slowly went black. 

 

***

 

Jughead was infatuated with way her head rolled back and how her hips rose to him as he snapped his hips into hers. He loved it when he hit that one spot inside her to make her eyes widen and her mouth go slack to release a sultry moan. Somehow within the thick fog of lust that clouded her eyes there was still a look of innocence that made his core tighten and his hips pick up their pace as they roughly met hers. The only noise in his room was his old fan squeaking every time it rotated to a certain spot, their gasps and moans bouncing off the walls around them, and his bed creaking with every thrust he delivered into the blonde below him.

 

The way her hair fanned out around her like a halo made his heart clench. Her naked body underneath his sent a wave of goosebumps up his spine. Her legs were wrapped around his waist as she said his name like a mantra and begged for him to go faster. He placed soft kisses on her neck and couldn’t refrain the deep groan that escaped from his throat as he went faster and deeper inside of the golden girl below him. He felt himself getting closer and closer to the edge as her nails raked a trail up his back and into his hair.

 

“Who do you belong to?” Jugheads voice was gruff and insistent as her bottom lip become trapped between her teeth.

 

“You, Juggie,” she moaned, “Only you. I’m yours!”

 

With the power of his hips and the speed he was going she was almost screaming. The pleasure almost becoming too intense for her to process. He noticed her walls start to quiver and her panting start to grow heavier. “C’mon, Princess,” Jughead encouraged as he reached between them and brought his thumb to her clit to rub tight circles to help come undone. “Come with me. Come for me, Baby.” 

 

“Just a little longer, please, Jug,” she whined. Usually Jughead would have complied but he was already too close to the edge. His thumb applied more pressure and her eyes rolled to the back of her head and that was when they fell over the edge together. Her back arched and her legs tightened around him, “Oh, Juggie!” Her walls surrounding his member tightened and Jughead shuddered while he emptied himself inside of her with everything he had and a final strangled moan escaped from him, “Fuck, Betty!”

 

Jughead bolted awake and rubbed his eyes while groaning at the feeling of his damp boxers sticking to his skin. He hobbled out of bed into his bathroom and kicked the ruined pair off while he fiddled with the knobs on the shower to get it to the right temperature. Once it was to his liking he climbed into the shower and tried to forget about his very explicit dream involving a girl he barely knew. Well, he knew her body pretty damn well but next to nothing about Betty herself. He wasn’t going to lie- he would have loved to talk to her more after he went down on her - and that wasn’t all he wished he could have done with her. 

 

He almost felt guilty for hooking up with one of Archie’s friends - almost. It wasn’t long after she’d left that he’d remembered that Archie had told him once about the crush he used to have on Betty. Jug didn’t think Archie would mind though, that crush was years ago. Hell, Jughead didn’t understand why he was worrying so much about the night before with Betty. He would probably never see her again, the two of them were polar opposites and despite their mutual friendship with Archie, they moved in very different circles. She wore pastels and cheered on her high school football team while Jughead worked construction and sold drugs alongside his gang. She was probably filling out endless college applications and ready to escape this town and leave it all behind her. He was stuck here just like he always knew he would be. Jughead shook his head and finished washing his hair and stepped out of the shower and wrapped the towel securely around his waist. He stood in front of the mirror and casually combed through the tangles in his wavy hair.

 

Without knocking on the door, JB invited herself inside, “Hey, did you eat all of the waffles- holy shit are those hickeys?!” 

 

Jughead jumped, attempting to cover himself with nothing but awkward intentions. “Jesus, don’t you knock??” 

 

JB walked closer to him and inspected his neck, “Oh my god, Jay, who did you hook up with last night at that party? I thought you left right after you got into a fight with Chuck?”

 

Jughead looked at her oddly, “I told you that you weren’t allowed to go to that party. How did you know I fought Chuck? I told you I was going to be in a meeting with some of the other Serpents and this is the first time I’m seeing you since dinner last night…”

 

JB’s cheeks flushed a bright pink, “So we both lied. Let’s just move on and not ask each other anymore questions.”

 

Jughead nodded as his hand cupped the side of his neck to cover the bruises betty had left on his skin, “Agreed. We never speak of this again.”

 

JB let herself out of the bathroom and called behind her shoulder, “I know you ate my damn waffles.”

 

***

 

“Talk to me. Talk to me. Talk to me. Talk to me. Talk to me.” Kevin had been trying to annoy Betty for the past half hour. Somehow her classmates had caught wind about the appearance she made at the Serpents party that had occurred two weeks before. Now that the school had found out that she was a ‘Serpent Slut,’ Kevin and Veronica would not stop pestering her with pointless questions. “At least tell me if you hooked up with that hot brooding Serpent from the bar. You have to tell me!” Betty ignored him and continued to read her assigned passage from her English class. Kevin was quiet for a few minutes, “You totally got with him. I know you did.”

 

Betty gave him a doubtful nod, “Oh sure. Where’s your proof? I thought I was your poor, inexperienced, innocent friend.”

 

“You wore scarves and turtlenecks for a week and had makeup on your neck all of last week. Plus, you wore leggings during cheerleading practice.” Kevin replied smugly as he went back to writing his science notes. “My little Elizabeth Cooper is spreading her wings and finally getting some!”

 

Betty felt her face grow hotter, “That doesn’t mean anything. I wore leggings because it the end of October, it’s cold outside, and I enjoy scarves and the conservative design of the turtleneck.” Betty mentally slapped herself on the face,  _ Conservative design of the turtleneck? Who the hell says that? _

 

“You are skilled at many things Elizabeth Cooper. However, lying isn’t one of them.” Kevin hadn’t even glanced up at her. He could tell by the unnatural pitch of her voice and the sudden anxious movement of her hands.

 

“Fine. Yes, we did hook up,” Betty admitted finally, forcing the blush from flushing across her face.

 

“How was he?” Kevin smiled devilishly at her, eager to hear the new gossip on his best friends intimate life.

 

Betty bit her lip, considering if she should tell her friend or not. “Really fucking great. You were right about his hands, by the way.”

 

Kevin clapped with happiness, it was terribly loud compared to the peaceful atmosphere of the school library, “Have you seen him since? Have you talked to him? I feel like he would be best as a side thing and not an actual boyfriend.”

 

Betty rolled her eyes and pointed her pencil at Kevin's nose, “You, my friend, are incredibly nosey,” She placed her pencil back on the table's surface and sighed deeply as she tightened her ponytail, “I didn’t give him my number. I kinda regret it because he has been on my mind constantly ever since that night. I’m not kidding, Kev. I can’t get him out of my damn head! It’s like he’s haunting me or something!”

 

Kevin lowly whistled, “Damn… Yeah, girl, I never thought you would be the type to go for a fling precisely because of this. You’re already attached after one hook up? If he was looking for a booty call and heard that you couldn’t stop thinking about him after one night, he’d run the other way. If you happen to run across him and you two get down and dirty, don’t let him know about your true feelings. Feelings scare the shit out of boys nowadays.”

 

Betty nodded and couldn’t help feel as if Kevin was wrong. His heart was in the right place, but she wasn’t the type to keep her thoughts locked away. Besides, Jughead wasn’t a dumb high school boy. He had probably been in a lot of relationships and knew what to do when he was starting to develop feelings for a girl.  _ That’s assuming he’d actually like a whore like you _ , her mother’s voice echoed in the back of her mind. She shook her head to rid her thoughts of Jughead and her mother. 

 

She stood up and started to pack up her bookbag and Kevin looked confused, “Where are you going, Betty?”

 

“I have to get started on an article. I keep putting it off and I figure if I use my free period and our lunch period then I will be able to get it done and out of my hair.” Betty forced a smile as she slung her backpack over her shoulders.

 

“Okay, we’ll miss you at lunch! Good luck though,” Kevin encouraged.

 

She gave him a small wave and started down towards the Blue and Gold Office. The school newspaper office was her home away from home - her safe place. The Blue and Gold Office was the headquarters of the Riverdale High newspaper staff. The staff that included her and only her. She had Veronica occasionally take photos to be featured throughout the articles, but Betty was the one who was always writing for the school's newspaper. Betty had a passion for journalism. She loved having to find the missing pieces to the puzzle. She couldn’t have been more overjoyed when she was faced with a mystery article, it gave her something to investigate and dissect. It took her mind off other things in her life that couldn’t be explained away or easily overcome.

 

Lately, Betty had taken an interest in the Ghoulies of Southside High. The Ghoulies were the Serpents rival gang,  though everyone knew that the Ghoulies were more dangerous. They sold hard drugs, were involved in more violent crimes, and once Betty heard that they performed hit and runs. The police officers in Riverdale could never find enough evidence to bring the suspected Ghoulies into court though. When Betty had heard about the repeated lack of evidence in trial after trial, she knew that she could help the police force with their investigations towards the Ghoulies. Betty had a plan mapped out and she was eager to get started. She was determined to find the evidence the police needed to get the Ghoulies and their violence off of the streets.

 

***

 

Jughead paced back and forth in the back room of the Serpents bar, The Whyte Worm. Due to Chuck disturbing the Serpents meeting the night of the party, they figured they would finish their business in the safety of the Whyte Worm. 

 

The Serpents had always taken it upon themselves to keep the Ghoulies in check. The Ghoulies were always looking for trouble. Jughead’s had a strong dislike for the Ghoulies was something and his fellow Serpents never seemed to understand. The Serpent's sold minor drugs like weed and jingle jangle, but never anything too hard, the fact that the Ghoulies spent most of their time dealing damaging stuff to kids bothered him. The Serpent's tried their best to keep their poison away from Riverdale. Don’t shit where you eat was more than just an expression to them. 

 

Aside from the drugs, the Serpents also owned a chop shop that Jughead was often at when he wasn’t working construction. At their chop shop they would disassemble stolen cars to sell the separate parts to their customers. Selling drugs and selling car parts was a good way for Jughead to keep his wallet full, it was how he was able to pay for JB and he to live as comfortably as they did.

 

However the Ghoulies were another story entirely. They were a violent group and were often hired to do hit and runs among other violent acts, and they were experts at keeping it quiet and on the downlow. They sold meth, cocaine, any hard drug they could get their hands one and because they’re selling it that meant they’re constantly high off of them as well. Their gang also sold all types of guns to unknown and dangerous buyers that weren’t just interested in adding them to their gun collections. If there was a murder, hit and run, or spike in drug use in the surrounding areas then the Serpents often looked to the Ghoulies as the cause. The problem was that the Ghoulies were extremely sneaky and knew how to clean up a crime scene to make it all look like an accident. That was why most of Riverdale had never heard of the Ghoulies regular antics nor their criminal activities. The police weren’t much help, and Jughead was fairly certain that there were a few cops on the take.

 

“Jug, listen, we haven’t heard anything more about it. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions and say the Ghoulies killed that lawyer in Centerburg,” his fellow Serpent, Toni Topaz, told him. While she flicked her pink hair over her shoulder, she added, “Besides, there’s nothing we can do about it now. It was just a lawyer, anyway. Plus, he was going to bring the Serpents into the trial and we don’t need any of that drama.”

 

“I’m not talking about the lawyer! God, Don’t you guys get it?” Jughead had to stand up from the table the group sat around and take a deep breath as he held the back of the chair in a vice grip. “Look - their violence is getting closer and closer to home and we know that they are going to try and take our turf and we know what happens after that. These guys aren’t easy to blow off. They are psychopaths that have taken over gangs before.”

 

“I say we fight back. We’ve had turf wars before, this one won’t be any different,” a Serpent named Sweetpea spoke up. His demeanor was calmer than Jughead’s, but his voice reflected just as much worry. 

 

Toni shook her head, “We can’t do anything about that right now. The last gang that tried to defend their turf… well you saw how dismembered the Ghoulies left that leader.”

 

“Well, we can’t just sit back and do nothing. If FP. were here he would already have a solution to this shit show,” another Serpent spat while glaring at Jughead. 

 

Jughead gave the man a heartless scowl that made everyone grow quiet. “My dad isn’t here because the Ghoulies framed him for helping clean up their mess. I am doing my best to fill in his shoes,” Jughead took a step closer to the man and looked down to him in his seat. “You can complain as much as you’d like, Bones, but I didn’t see anyone come forward or fess up to turn the Ghoulies in.” The group looked around at each other, guilt evident on their faces. Jughead’s voice grew angry and louder. He could hear his voice echo through the pool hall “No, you didn’t. Instead you all sat on your asses like  _ cowards  _ and let him take the heat. Now he’s doing time for a crime he didn’t fucking commit. Do you want to know how I know?” Jughead waited for an answer and when one didn’t come he released a cold laugh, his knuckles pale from the powerful grip on the chair. “Because when I went to visit my father before they hauled him off, he told me the whole story. He told me why he couldn’t come clean.”

 

Toni spoke up almost as quiet as a mouse, no one had seen Jughead this mad, “Why couldn’t he confess?”

 

“Because the Ghoulies leader at the time threatened to kill my sister and I. They said that if my dad said a word against their gang than the two of us would be dead within seconds and there was nothing that the Serpents could do about it.” Jughead inhaled a shaky breath. “The Ghoulies need to be brought down..”

 

An older Serpent named Tall Boy nodded, “Start with the Riverdale High football team. I heard that a couple buy their coke from the Ghoulies. I bet one of those kids has a connection and we could find out more through them.”

 

Jughead nodded and grabbed his jean jacket and slid it over his shoulders. He knew that if he was going to be going to the high school his Serpent jacket would only draw too much attention towards him. “I’ll go there now. The rest of you stay here and start thinking of something we can do. Preferably, not ending in murder.” Jughead grabbed his keys and walked out the doors of the Whyte Worm. He hopped on his bike and headed towards the high school.

 

***

 

Betty sat in her chair as it spun slowly in circles while she scrolled through different scholarship opportunities and potential options for college. Instead of focusing on the article like she had told Kevin, she was now worrying about her future. Betty had narrowed her university choices down to the University of Maine, Columbia University in New York, and University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. She was hoping to go to school in New York, she’d be far away from her parents but a twenty minute subway ride from Polly. Betty already had it all planned out, she was basically counting down the days until the acceptance letters were scheduled to arrive at her home.

 

“Shouldn’t you be at lunch with your friends? Or are you one of those kids that spends every free period studying?” Jughead Jones dark voice broke her from her thoughts. She frightenedly spun around to find herself face to face him with a devilish smile on his lips as he leaned against the doorframe.

 

“What the hell are you doing here?” Betty asked while clutching her hand over her chest in surprise. “You can’t sneak up on people like that!”

 

Jughead flashed her a boyish smile and as he passed by her while inspecting the room he teasingly pinched her jean clad hips, “Hey there, Golden Girl. How’ve you been?”

 

Betty was surprised by the playful mannerisms and couldn’t help but blush, “I’m good… What are you doing here? Don’t you work during the day?”

 

Jughead shook his head while he inspected the bookshelf by the couch, “Fred let’s me have Tuesdays off from the construction site. I usually go in for an hour or two in the afternoon to help him with paperwork or phone calls.”

 

Betty causally closed the door to the room and locked it then followed him to the stack of books that seemed to peak his interest, “Wait, Fred Andrews? You didn’t tell me you worked for Archie’s dad!” She smiled while she watched him flip through The Great Gatsby. “Is that why Archie owes you so many favors?”

 

Jughead rolls his eyes and looks at her with a subtle grin, “You’re nosey.” He sat on the arm of the couch and casually rested his hands on the swell of her hips as he pulled her close to him between his legs in attempt to avoid her question, “Anyone ever tell you that?”

 

Betty felt her cheeks burn a bright crimson, “I’ve been called worse.”

 

His eyebrow rose in question, “Oh, really? Like what?”

 

Betty bit her lip mischievously to hold back her smile as she thought back to the rumors that had been swirling around the school about she and Jughead. “Your girlfriend.”

 

Jughead scoffed and put a hand over his heart and humorously cried out in faux pain, “Oh, I’m crushed! My heart has shattered!” Betty giggled and he laughed, “I never took Betty Cooper to be a heartbreaker.”

 

“That’s because you don’t know me.” Betty glanced at his lips then back into his eyes, “You only know how to make me moan.”

 

Jughead smirked, “I don’t know. It’s been two weeks. I might have forgotten by now.” Jughead placed a soft kiss on her cheek then brushed his lips against her jawline until they were hovering above her sweet spot below her earlobe. 

 

Betty felt her heart fluttering as she was breathless against him, “We wouldn’t want you to forget, would we?” Betty sighed happily as he sucked her delicate skin. Her hips leaned into his and her hands laced throughout his hair as she moaned when he lustfully bit at the sensitive, abused skin. His hands started to explore her curves while he connected their lips and allowed their tongues to do their familiar sinful dance. Betty couldn’t help but whimper into his mouth as one of his hands cupped the small of her back to bring her body flush with his while the other was up her camisole and caressing her breast. Jughead rose from his spot and quickly grasped the bottom of her thighs to wrap her legs around his waist. He held onto the blonde tightly, making sure that she was secure around his waist. His hand wandered her hair and as Betty broke their kiss for air and he sat her down on the couch she began to lustfully kiss and bite down his neck and imprint on his adam's apple. The longing moan that escaped from his throat made Betty’s confidence rise as she laid back on the couch and encouraged him to climb on top of her.

 

Jughead tried to catch his breath as her hands wandered over the front of his jeans to find him hard and ready for her. “Wait, Princess, this isn’t where I plan on finishing this.  You deserve a bed, not a dusty couch. For now-” his words were left unfinished as he trailed his lips down from her neck to the valley of her breasts until she stopped him, “No, I want to please you this time. I want to taste you, Jughead.” She stared up at him and her usual pure moss green eyes were fogged over by lust and want.

 

Jughead felt his eyes widen and he nodded eagerly, “I-I mean, if you want to, sure.” Jughead wanted to slap himself in the face. He couldn’t believe how incoherent he was around his blonde bombshell. He didn’t understand why he couldn’t be smooth and sexy around her. He’d never had this problem before. She seemed to be his kryptonite.

 

The two of them shifted so Betty was on top and as she fumbled with his belt he spoke up, “You don’t have to do this, Betts. I’m fine, real-” He was cut off by the feeling of her lips dragging themselves up his shaft. Betty ran her tongue over the pre-cum that leaked from his head then engulfed him into her mouth. She made sure to keep her mouth hot and tight around his cock as he pulsated in her mouth. Her eyes watered at the intense length that tickled the back of her throat. A guttural moan left his lips and his hand wrapped itself around her ponytail while giving it a slight tug, Betty looked up at him through her eyelashes as her head bobbed back and forth. His eyebrows were scrunched together and his mouth open as he panted, “Fuck, Betts” and “Holy fuck” over and over again. She pulled back, keeping her mouth taut and leaving him slick and easy to pump her hands around him and giving her a second to catch her breath. Betty leaned over him and swirled her tongue over his sensitive tip as he hissed in pleasure, “Swallow me, Betts. Please keep going, baby.” he begged.

 

Betty smirked as she continued to bob her head up and down his shaft while her hand steadily pumped at the pace that made his stomach coil and his hand pull harsher at her ponytail. She felt empowered as she listened to him moan and pant because of the effect her mouth had on his body. She could see how tense his abs were through the thin fabric of his t-shirt. It made her mouth water more.

 

“Betts, I’m close,” he managed to say through his gritted teeth. Betty slipped him into her mouth once more as her eyes watered as she allowed her lips to touch his base then her tongue swirled around him as she came back up to his tip while making her mouth tighter than she had before. He bit down hard on his knuckle to keep himself quiet as he released himself into her mouth. Betty swallowed the salty load and swirled her tongue around him for a final time as she came back up to see Jughead a panting mess. The temple of his forehead had a bead of sweat race down his tan skin. Before Betty could say anything he pulled her down for a passionate kiss. Once they broke apart and Jughead tucked himself back into his pants and he pulled her on top of him and she laid her head on his chest. She glanced up at him curiously, “So, are you going to tell me why you’re here now?”

 

Jughead sighed, “You’re still wondering? Blondie, I can’t tell you, I’m not allowed to.”

 

Betty raised an eyebrow at him as she sat up and started to grind her hips into his to awake his body once again. Jughead released a throaty moan, “Okay, okay. I just have to talk to a few football players. I just want to see if they know anything about another gang.”

 

Betty smirked and drew patterns on the fabric of his shirt above his pec, “Really? Why would they have anything to do with your turf war? Which gang are you guys having problems with?”

 

Jughead aimlessly played with the strands of her now messy ponytail, “Can’t tell you specifics. All I can say is that it’s involving the Ghoulies, a gang from another town.”

 

Betty slightly jumped in a flash of excitement and Jughead grunted at the sudden movement, “The Ghoulies?! Jughead, I can help you! I’m doing an investigative article on them now!”

 

Jughead sat up with her so they were eye to eye and he shook his head. His tone was serious, “You need to stop. You can’t investigate and expose them, Blondie, they will come after you and hurt you. I don’t mean threaten, I mean physically harm or kill you. I can’t let that happen. Do you understand me?” Betty sighed and hesitated in her answer, “Elizabeth, do you understand?” He tone was more insistent, almost desperate.

 

Betty nodded and spoke softly, “I understand, Jug.”

 

His thumb caressed her cheek and his voice was quiet as he looked softly at her face, “Thank you, Baby.” Jughead didn’t know where these gestures like cuddling or playing with her were coming from. He was never known to be very affectionate with the woman he had relationships with in the past. This was something new for him. 

 

“You should probably go if you want to find the football players. A lot of them have lunch this period.” Betty suggested with a soft smile. Jughead smirked and began to kiss along the line of her jaw as one of his hands slid up her thighs and peeked underneath her camisole while the other gripped the inside of her thigh. “You trying to get rid of me, Cooper?”

 

Bettys eyes flutter closed as his hand slipped under her bra and ran over her peaked nipple, “Jug, you have work to do.”

 

Jughead shrugged as his tongue lazily ran across her collarbones and dipped into the valley of her breasts and explored the tops of their curves which made Betty grow wetter by the minute. “They have practice after school. I can grab them then. I just want to feel you come around my tongue again. The fact that someone as beautiful as you can crumble just by my touch blows my damn mind.” Jughead placed a kiss underneath her ear and whispered, “If I could I would fuck you into oblivion.” 

 

Betty moaned at his words and pulled his mouth onto hers and snaked her tongue around his. Her hips ground into his as she whimpered at the tension that had been building in her core. “This is the last time we do something like this in public. I want to take my time.”

 

Jughead hummed as she took her shirt off and he leaned her against the couch, “Agreed.” Once Jughead got her bra off and had his mouth teasing one of her nipples, he glanced up at Betty to find a writhing blonde beauty with pleas spilling from her mouth. He smirked and sucked on the swell of her breast, leaving a purple bruise in his path. His tongue trailed from her breasts and down to her navel and stopped at the waist of her jeans. Betty entangled her fingers in his hair to encourage him, “This would be a lot easier if you were wearing a skirt, Betts.”

 

Betty laughed at him and stopped his hands from fumbling at her jeans when the bell rang to signal that the class was over and it was time to move on. She groaned in frustration, “I have Psycology and I can’t miss class today. We’re taking a huge test over the unit.”

 

Jughead sighed and brushed a lock of hair out of her face, “Okay. I’ll make it up to you next time.”

 

Betty grinned and playfully rolled her eyes, “Well that sounds great to me. Maybe some Netflix as well?”

 

Jughead smirked and winked at her, “That sounds great to me.” He stood up and collected himself, “So… can I have your number this time?” He offered his phone to her.

 

Betty blushed and entered her phone number, “Of course. Make sure you use it though..”

 

Jughead pinched her hips as he passed her on his way out which made her squeal in surprise, “I most definitely will, Blondie.” Betty hated how big her smile was.

 

As soon as he was out of sight, her smile fell and unbidden thoughts came back to her mind,  _ You two are nothing. Just two people helping each other’s sexual needs. Don’t get your hopes up, they all leave sometime. _

 

***

 

JB ran around the house with glass cleaner in one hand and a vacuum in the other. She had been cleaning ever since she came home from school in preparation to have a friend over for dinner. She had already washed all the dishes and restocked them into their cabinets, cleaned every square inch of her room, and cleaned the bathrooms. Now she was about to vacuum the living room, but she was curious as to where her older brother was. It was nearly six and he was usually home when she got back from school, but today his motorcycle wasn’t in the driveway and she’d come home to an empty house. She was starting to grow concerned that he wasn’t coming back but she quickly shook the thoughts from her head. She knew Jughead would never leave her. 

 

It was only a moment later when Jughead walked in the door, a new bruise forming around his eye. “Jughead, what the hell?!”

 

Jughead sighed and closed the door behind him and hung his jacket up on a hook by the door and wandered to the kitchen table to look through the bowl of fruit that sat on its surface. “Hey, Bean. How was school?”

 

“How was school? Really? You aren’t going to try and explain why you weren’t home and didn’t leave a note and why you suddenly have a black eye?” JB set the glass cleaner down and crossed her arms, her eyebrow raised in question. 

 

Jughead smiled sheepishly, “Yeah, um, I had to talk to a couple football players from the Northside and one of them decided to fight instead of cooperate with words. I got it under control though, don’t worry about it.”

 

JBs eyes started to water, “Jay, you can’t keep doing these things. I’m terrified to leave you. I mean, you could go missing and I wouldn’t have a clue! What’s gonna happen when I’m in Ohio? You could be beaten to a pulp and there wouldn't be anyone to help pull you back together!” JB let out a sob as his eyebrows furrowed in concern and pulled her into his chest. 

 

He ran a hand over her hair to soothe her, “Hey, hey … I promise I am going to be okay. Everything that’s going on, it’s just minor… nothing big is going to come from it.”

 

JB scoffed and pushed him away from her, “Bullshit. I’ve heard your phone calls and all the stuff that’s going on with the Ghoulies. You’re going to get yourself killed if you keep running with the Serpents.” Her words felt like poison.

 

“The Serpents are my family-“ 

 

JB cut off him off, “No, no. I am your family! Not the Serpents, they’re just fillers and you and I know it!” 

 

“Funny, because last time I checked you were the one that was leaving! Not the Serpents.” Jughead felt tears starting to pool in his eyes. He blinked hard to keep the waterworks in. He couldn’t cry because once he started he knew it would go on for hours about all the painful things he’s kept inside for the past few years. 

 

JB exasperatedly ran her hands through her hair, “Then why didn’t you ask me to stay when I first told you about it?! I gave you so many chances before I finalized my transfer to ask me not to leave!”

 

Jughead wanted to punch a wall. He wanted to throw a chair. He wanted to break something. Instead he slammed his fist down on the kitchen table beside him, causing a loud bang but leaving JB unphased. “Because I don’t want you to get stuck here like I am! Like how dad is! It’s too late for me, but you can still get out! You shouldn’t have to follow our parents footsteps!”

 

JB stares at him in disbelief, “Then why are  _ you  _ following in their footsteps? Look at yourself Jughead. Look at yourself.” Jughead looked confused. “You are becoming our father! You are falling down the same black hole that took him!!” 

 

She allowed the words to settle with him and when she spoke again she was no longer angry. She was scared. “We are not our parents, Jay. We can be so much more. We don’t have to suffer their fate. You and I have our own paths to pave and our own happiness to find. You don’t have to settle with the Serpents, because you can be so much more. Like college, bartending, I don’t know... you’ll figure it out.” JB sighed and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “We have our own paths to pave. You aren’t too far gone, you can turn around at anytime.”

 

Jughead no longer looked to be on the verge of tears, but more somber. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off from a knock at the door. 

 

JB sniffled, “That’s my friend. She’s really nice so please don’t scare her off. Could you let her in while I clean myself up?”

 

Jughead nodded, “We can talk more about this later, okay?” JB gave him a small smile and went back to her room.

 

Jughead looked over at the door and groaned to himself. He walked over and opened the door to find the girl who he had midday tryst with earlier that day. Jughead’s mouth fell slightly ajar, “Blondie? How did you know I lived here?”

 

Betty seemed to be just as surprised, “I’m looking for JB… Wait, is she your sister?” But before she could continue that line of questioning, a look of frantic worry fell on her face. “Juggie! What happened to your eye?” She raised her hand to tentatively touch the dark purple skin.

 

“Oh good, you two have met! Betty, c’mon in!” JB’s voice echoed from the kitchen. Her face completely clear of any of the sadness from moments before and completely oblivious to the sudden tension in the room. Betty yanked her hand away from Jugheads face and quickly realized the mess she had gotten herself into.

 

Betty suddenly felt nervous, her stomach was unsettled and anxiety ridden now that she knew she had been fooling around with her new friends older brother. “Yeah, we’ve met… Um... JB I have your dress from that par-... Study session.” Betty pulled it out from her backpack to hand it to JB.

 

Jughead tried to ignore the fact that he had been imagining Betty in that dress, that actually belonged to his pure little sister, after their first intimate meeting at the party two weeks ago. He stepped back and found it difficult to look at either of them in the eye. “Um, I’ll be in my room, so you two can focus on studying. Let me know when the pizza gets here,” he murmured. 

 

Jughead left the living room and fell face first into his bed and wondered how he was going to continue his interesting relationship with his sister's new friend.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Violence/Interregation, mentioning of blood, and guns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys have been so patient for this chapter and I could not be more thankful for that! This chapter was strangely hard for me to write and I gotta thank @youbuildmeupbeliever for helping me push through and @jandjsalmon for being my beta and personal cheerleader <3

“JB, Matthew McConaughey is hot,” Betty insisted while flipping through a magazine instead of her physics book.

 

“He’s too old for me,” JBs nose was scrunched at the thought of crushing on someone who was well over forty. 

 

Betty laughed, “Suit yourself, more for me.” 

 

“So, are you into older guys?” JB pondered.

 

Betty tensed at the mention of her love life, “Yeah, I guess so. What about you?”

 

“I’m more into girls, but there are a few guys that may be worth my time. So, fill me in. Are you seeing anyone?” JB smiled playfully and wiggled her eyebrows.

 

Betty ran a hand through her hair feeling a sudden wave of anxiety wash over her, “Um, kinda. We’re not dating, just there for each other’s needs.”

 

JB whistles low, “Oh, so you’re into those kinds of relationships. Are you attached to him yet?”

 

Betty shook her head, “We’ve only hooked up twice, so if I’m catching feelings for anything it’s just his fingers.” The two girls giggled, “He’s a nice guy, I find him really attractive. I also enjoy the conversations we have when we aren’t focusing on being physical. I’m able to laugh around him and relax.” A smile was growing on Betty’s lip as their past encounters crossed her mind. 

 

“So, you are starting to like him?” Betty shook her head insistently and JB smiled, “Oh my dear Betty, you’re definitely lying to yourself.”

 

Betty’s mouth dropped and she was slightly taken aback by the bluntness of her response, “What? No, I’m not… I just have a slight attraction for him and it’s merely physical.”

 

JB grinned, “Sure, Betts. Have you ever been in a relationship before?”

 

Betty hesitated, “Not exactly. I’ve been on dates, but nothing ever lasted too long. I’ve mainly hooked up with guys.”

 

“You’re like my brother. The only real relationship my brother has had was with another Serpent, I’m pretty sure she took his virginity.” JB shrugged. “They only dated for like five months though.”

 

Betty tried to act nonchalant at the mention of Jughead, “Who did he date?”

 

“A girl named Toni,” JB turned on the TV and brought up Netflix, “So would I know this boy?”

 

As Betty started to answer, her breath hitched as a shirtless Jughead walked into the living room. Betty’s eyes raked up his body taking in the low hanging sweatpants that tauntingly accentuated his v lines. Now all Betty could think about was her tongue licking down the rigid curves in his abs as he pulled insistently at the hem of her shirt while they fell back onto his bed in a fit of passion. 

 

“Jay, get a shirt on. Jesus,” JB shook her head obviously annoyed, “Why are you so full of yourself?”

 

Jughead laughed went to their laundry room and came back out in a well fitting shirt advertising an old comedic movie and he got a piece of pizza from the boxes on the table, “Your friend doesn’t seem to mind. Right, Betsy?”

 

Betty subtly rolled her eyes and a playful smirk danced on her lips, “It’s Betty. But no need to apologize, I know the memory fades as people start to grow older.”

 

Jugheads looked up and down her body and, damn, was she gorgeous. She was a natural beauty if he’d ever seen one. Her hair wasn’t in its usual ponytail, there were a few delicate pieces waving in front of her eyes. She wore yoga pants that perfectly outlined the curve of her ass and a comfy, baggy T-shirt that hung off her shoulders and landed perfectly at her waistband. Jughead walked over and nudged the side of her waist with his foot, “I’m not old.” He took a bite of his pizza.

 

JB carefully watched the two interact as Betty grabbed his foot that continued to poke her and made him lose balance and fall back onto the couch as she laughed, “I think you’re old.”

 

“I heard you’re into older-“

 

“What the hell? Can you two get a room?” JB huffed while suddenly becoming interested in her textbook.

 

Betty’s face flushed a bright pink, “S-sorry.”

 

As much as Jughead wanted to pin Betty against his bed and make her his own, he ignored his little sister's suggestion and sat between the two girls while his hand slyly slipped under the hem of Betty’s T-shirt and massaged circles on the skin of her pelvis just above the waistband of her yoga pants. Betty eyed him in surprise, he was being fairly bold with his sister on the other side of him. 

 

“So, are you guys actually studying or are you two just gossiping?” Jughead asked, ignoring the looks he was receiving from Betty. 

 

JB shrugged, not noticing her friend and brother, “Mainly gossip. We were talking about a boy she’s seeing before you walked into the room and distracted her.” 

 

Jughead looked over and raised an eyebrow in question at Betty as a mischievous smirk danced on his lips, “Oh, so you’re dating someone? Is he a nice guy?”

 

Betty casually wrapped her hand around his wrist and removed it from under her shirt, “Not dating, we don’t really have a label. Most of the time he’s a real dick.”

 

JB looked over at the two and watched their interactions. Jughead bit his lip to hide his smile while the world around him started to fade as Betty became his main focus, “I bet he’d be pissed to hear you say that about him. Aren’t you worried that he’ll leave you?”

 

Betty smirked as she glanced at Jugheads lips, “I can handle myself.” 

 

JB watched as the two laughed and jabbed at each other back and forth while trying to hide the fact that they were basically undressing each other with their eyes. Normally, JB would have been livid at the thought of one of her friends flirting shamelessly with her older brother, however, this time felt natural and innocent. The lust was evident and they seemed to be embracing the feeling of being attracted to one another, however, JB saw something that the two were ignoring. It was the way Jughead’s eyes softened as Betty babbled about the drama with her friends at school and how his eyes shone when she genuinely laughed at a corny joke that would usually make JB roll her eyes. Jughead wasn’t the only one with this look of admiration in his eyes, Betty did too. As he spoke to her about how his afternoon with Fred Andrews had gone, she was interested and interactive throughout the conversation and furthered the conversation, eagerly wanting to know more about the blocked off and mysterious, Jughead Jones. 

 

JB took a deep breath and decided that she was going to help her brother be a little happier tonight, “Hey, I’m going to go grab take-out from Pops. I’ll be back in a little bit.”

 

Betty looked at JB confused, “Don’t we have pizza over there?

 

“We can never have enough food, B. I won’t be too long,” JB grabbed her brother’s car keys and smiled while she slyly winked at him as she left the tiny apartment, closing the heavy door behind her.

 

“Did she just do that?” Betty gaped.

 

“She definitely did.” Jughead pulled Betty into his lap and shifted her so she was straddling his waist, “So… We’re alone.”

 

Betty playfully rolled her eyes and laughed, “Very observant of you, Mr. Jones.” She ran a hand through his hair. 

 

Jughead smirked as he glanced at her lips and held her close to him so their hips and chest were pressed into one another, “What do you want to do?”

 

Betty smiled while she ran her hands over his biceps then brought them to his cheeks. The intimate position they were in made her heart lurch. His hair was falling in front of his face and curling in a way that made her core start to tighten, she captured his lips in an urgent kiss. Jugheads hands tightened their grip on her hips as he kissed back already wanting more. Betty smirked and pulled away from him, “I don’t want JB to walk in on us.” She got off his lap and made her way to the kitchen, leaving Jughead to watch her walk away. His eyes immediately drawn to the seductive sway of her hips, that he knew she was giving a little extra sway just make him go a little more crazy.

 

Jughead quickly got to his feet and followed behind her. She was looking through their pantry and quietly humming to herself as she went to the sink to wash her hands. Jughead raised an eyebrow and connected his phone to his Bluetooth speaker as she placed a box of brownie mix on the counter and went through the fridge to find eggs for the mix. A comfortable silence fell upon them and the only noises were from Betty shuffling around the kitchen pulling out bowls and pans and whisking away. 

 

Suddenly music filled the room and her face lit up as she recognized the song immediately, “Woah, woah, wait. Billy Joel? Is this Only The Good Die Young? You like Billy Joel?”

 

Jughead laughed and stood by her side as she poured the dark, cocoa mixture into a pan and set it in the warm oven, “Listen here, Golden Girl, my music taste is eclectic.” He dipped his finger in the leftover brownie mix and into his mouth and he groaned at the chocolatey taste, “This tastes amazing! Good job.”

 

Betty laughed and bit her lip, “It’s from a box, I did nothing.” Jughead dipped his finger in again and offered it to her lips. She smirked and wrapped her lips around his finger and allowed her tongue to curl around the pad of his finger so she could suck the brownie mix off. She released him with an audible pop and innocently looked into his eyes that were now filled with temptation and want. 

 

“Ya know, this song kinda applies to our situation.” Betty smiled and started to sway to the upbeat rhythm of the song. 

 

Jughead watched her with a subtle grin on his lips, “How so?”

 

Betty sang along,  “ _ You might have heard I run with a dangerous crowd. We ain't too pretty we ain't too proud. We might be laughing a bit too loud. Aw but that never hurt no one _ .” She twirle d around the kitchen as she sang into her brownie batter-covered spoon and pointed to Jughead as she bounced her right hip with her right knee cocked and toes pointed into the floor. 

 

Jughead laughed and he took the spoon from her hand and placed it on the counter. He grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him then spun her out and kept his hand in hers as he sang the rest of the verse to her, “ _ So come on Virginia show me a sign.Send up a signal and I'll throw you the line. The stained-glass curtain you're hiding behind _ _ - _ ,” Jughead spun her back to him so her back was to his chest and he sang into her ear as he swayed them to the beat of the song, “- _ Never let's in the sun. Darlin' only the good die young _ .” Betty was surprised with how raspy, yet stunning, Jugheads voice was. It made her swoon, she knew he was a talented bassist, but the singing was news to her. Jughead turned her to face him and cupped the back of her neck so that he could dip her causing her blonde mane to fall back and hang in the air beautifully, he wished he could have taken a picture. “You are so beautiful.” Her glee in her smile and the purity and sheer wonder in her eyes made his heart soar out of his ribcage. He brought her back up and his gaze fell to her lips then back up to the green forest of her eyes and he began to joke, “So what did I overhear about this new guy you’re seeing-”

 

Betty cut him off with her hand softly cupping his cheeks and bringing him in for a kiss that felt different than the others. Their previous kisses had been rushed and filled with lustful passion, but this kiss was slow and filled with innocent longing. Jugheads eyes closed as their lips moved in at a speed that started out patient but soon turned hungry. One of his hands tangled itself in her hair while the other gripped her hip and held her body to his. While she raked her hands down the front of his shirt and slipped them underneath the hem she felt Jughead backing her up against the kitchen counter. 

 

Betty bit her lip and with a sudden surge of courage she gently pushed herself onto the counter and wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him close so she was pressed against his hardness.  His right hand immediately find their place on the inward curve of her waist as his other hand cupped the side of her neck while his thumb gently trailed along the line of her jaw and stopped underneath her chin. Jughead hummed happily when her tongue swept across his bottom lip, begging for him. His tongue slipped past her lips and curled around hers and she peeled her shirt off her body and threw it to the floor. A throaty moan escaped his lips and she felt his body tighten below her at the sight of her breasts spilling over her navy blue laced bra. Betty gasped when he dove into her neck, sucking, biting, and licking down her throat leaving Betty breathless and her core pooling.

 

Betty admired his body as his took his shirt off and tossed it onto the floor and she brought her hands up to trail up his chest then entangle themselves in his hair. “Jug, what about your sister?” Jughead kissed her deeply while his hand skimmed up her waist and cupped her right breast, “She knows something is going on between us. She won’t be back for a while,” He placed a kiss under her ear, “So we can take our time,” Another kiss on her breastbone and he bit the milky skin as she tugged on his hair, her silent beg for more, “and enjoy ourselves,” He placed a kiss above her belly button and stopped at the waistband of her pants making her feet squirm in anticipation and hips start to rock in desperate need of friction, “Does that sound okay?” He looked up at her through his eyelashes to see a beautiful, withering blonde begging to come undone from his touch. 

 

Betty quickly nodded and pulled him up to her face and she started to leave marks down his neck as her hand slipped underneath the waistband of his sweatpants. A dark moan escaped his lips as she stroked him, he held onto the counter for support as her tiny hand wrapped around his large member and her thumb circled his head and used the precum for lube as her stroke became faster and tighter, she knew the speed he liked. “Fuck, Betts,” His veins were bulging from his neck as he was trying to hold off from his release. Betty kissed up his neck and left a bruise under his ear. Her tongue traced the shell of his ear and she whispered, “I want to see your room, Juggie.”

 

Jughead quickly complied and his hands cupped the underneath of her thighs and once her hand came out of his pants he picked her up and carried her off to his room their tongues entangling on their way there. 

 

Jughead laid her down gently on the bed and rested between her legs and his lips trailed down her chest, his tongue licking up the swell of her breast right above the cup of her bra. Betty moaned, “Oh, Juggie...” Her body arching to his, a silent beg for his touch. Her fingers wrapped themselves around strands of his hair and tugged as he undid her bra and threw it over his shoulder then gently blew a cold breeze onto her dusty peak. 

 

He kissed and nipped across her skin and his breath was warm against her skin, “Tell me what you want, baby.” 

 

With the way his tongue was exploring her skin she was growing hotter by the minute, she released a breathy gasp and he began to suck on her nipple and that breathy gasp quickly changed to a low, dark moan escaped her throat, “Jug, please, I want you.”

 

He lifted his head and watched her squirm as his hands came over her breasts and squeezed them earning a delectable whine from the beautiful blonde that laid underneath him. He hummed happily, “Where do you want me?” He slid her pants off and allowed them to drop to the floor. His sweatpants hardened more at the sight of a barely-there thong that matched the bra that was now discarded on his floor.

 

Betty broke her lust filled trance to scowl at his attempt to make her beg, “You know where,” 

 

Jughead raised an eyebrow and kissed around her core, but keeping a teasing amount of distance between his mouth and where she wanted him most. “I don’t think I do. I mean for all I know you may want me to suck your toes. C’mon, beautiful, beg for it.” He made his way up the inside of her thigh and alternated between biting and kissing.

 

Betty groaned and the palms of her hands were pressed against his back as they explored every dip in his muscles, “I-I want you inside me, Juggie.” 

 

“But what’s the magic word, baby?” He gently rolled one of her peak between the pads of his forefinger and thumb, making her back arch wildly, “Please, Jug!”

 

Jughead cockily smirked and removed her underwear and eased one of his long fingers into her center and pumped steadily as his thumb circled her clit slowly, “Do you beg for the others?” She shook her head and moaned while he picked up speed and her breath started to become heavier. “Good, so it’s only me.” Her nails started to dig into the skin on his back and leave marks in their wake. He stopped his movements for a second to receive an irritated groan in response,“I want my name to roll off your tongue when you touch yourself when I’m not around. Understand, Princess?” 

 

Betty bit her lip, “I do. Please touch me, Juggie!” Her whines turned into moans and he smirked and replaced his thumb with his lips and he suckled on her clit making her toes curl and her hips buck against him. Jugheads tongue massaged her clit and his fingers pumped in and out of her roughly, curling and hitting the spot that only he could find. Her mouth fell slack as he removed his fingers and his tongue entered her instead, she whimpered his name wildly and felt herself coming closer to her climax as she rode his mouth. She wrapped her legs around his shoulders in attempt to bring him closer, his tongue came back to her swollen nub, she breathing coming out in broken and desperate sobs. Her fingers grasped the sheets as her hips lifted to him, again and again, seeking even more pleasure. His hands came up and pinned her hips to the bed keep her from moving again and as he suckled he hummed in appreciation to her nails burrowing themselves in his hair once again. His humming sent vibrations through her clit and made her legs go weak and just like that she was coming undone. 

 

He slowly brought her down from her orgasm and she sat up and fiercely kissed him and pulled him on top of her. She could taste herself as he stroked his tongue against hers. He smiled and settle between her legs and looked at her in question, “Betty, are you sure?”

 

Betty pushed a piece of hair out of his eyes and allowed her hand to linger on his cheek, “I’m sure, Jug.” 

 

Jughead nodded, “I’m going to take it easy this time, okay? Let me know if I start to hurt you.” He sat up and reached into his bedside table for a condom, but Betty’s hand stopped him.

 

Betty sat up along with him. “I’m on the pill, you don’t have to use a condom. Unless you have-” 

 

Jughead smiled, “I’m clean. Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

 

In response, Betty kissed him and pulled him back to the safety of his mattress. Her voice was thick with lust, “I want to feel all of you.” Jughead kissed her back passionately as he slid himself into her wet heat easily, both of them moaning into each other’s mouths as they became one. Betty felt a pinch from the unfamiliar stretch and Jughead paused his movements to allow her time to adjust to his size. She blinked hard as she felt herself start to adjust to the new length that was filling her up in ways she had never imagined. She could feel him everywhere. Betty giggled at how cautious Jughead was being above her, “Jug, you can move,” Jughead released a nervous breath and kissed her as if he wanted to reassure himself that it would be okay. He pulled himself out and rolled his hips back in, making Betty’s eyes roll to the back of her head and mouth fall open. She could feel how hard he was pulsing, it radiated through her whole body and she had never loved a sensation as much as that one.

 

The air felt humid and the only sound in the room was their whimpers and the hitting of flesh as their hips picked up their tempo and his thrusts came into her harder and deeper. She wrapped her legs around his waist and released a sob at the new sensation that was rocking her body. Jughead had a flash of worry when he realized how rough he was being with her, but he quickly felt better when he heard his name falling from her lips and her hands curling around his hair. He wondered why she loved his hair so much, not that he was complaining.

 

“Jug,” She looked at him, her eyes lust ridden and her breath hot against his skin, “Don’t hold back, I can take it.”

 

“Are you sure?” He hesitated.

 

“Fuck me, Juggie,” Her voice was seductive and tempting. He took a deep breath and put a pillow underneath the small of her back and stretched her leg further to the side and began slamming into her once again. He had made many women moan his name before, but he had never taken pride in the accomplishment until now. The fact that his name was slipping sinfully from her pristine lips made every part of him tighten more with need of release. His hips snapped into hers, “Jug, I-I’m close!” Betty could feel her release coming upon her. Her walls were fluttering around his dick, “Wet it for me,” His thumb hovered above her lips. She took his thumb in her mouth and wet it with her tongue then he brought it to her bundle nerves and circled her tightly as he continued to rock in and out of her, the sound of their heavy pants and broken moans echoing across the room. He bit at the base of her neck and soothes the irritated skin with his tongue, “Come for me, Betts,” He pulled almost all the way out then roughly snapped his hips back into her while he applied more pressure to her clit. Her back arched and her eyes rolled closed and his name escaped her lips and she clenched around him pulling his release from him with a deep moan. Jughead did his best to not collapse on her still shuddering body immediately. Once their breathing evened Jughead eased himself to the side and pulled Betty to him so her back was pressed against his chest.

 

“Are you okay?” He looked down into her sated eyes.

 

“Never been better.” Betty smiled and embraced his warm body spooning hers, “Juggie, I have to go freshen up.”

 

Jughead kissed the top of her head, “You’re coming back right?” Jughead hoped Betty couldn’t see how vulnerable he was at the moment. He was used to his guests walking out after hookups or him walking out on them, he just expected it now.

 

“I wouldn’t leave you, Jughead. You’d have to really fuck up to get me to stay away from you.” She pecked his lips and went to the restroom. Jughead smiled to himself and checked his phone to see several texts from JB informing him of her meeting up with friends at Pops. Betty came back a few minutes later and he pulled her back into his arms and Betty laughed, “Miss me? I was only gone for like 3 minutes.” She felt fuzzy as she laid in his arms embracing her post-orgasm state.

 

“You’re different than the other girls, Betts.” His voice was barely above a whisper, “You don’t make me feel like shit… When I’m around you, I don’t know, you just seem to light up my dark little life.”

 

Betty turned in his arms and rested her hands on his chest, “Jug, you make me feel something that I didn’t know I could feel. I’m not just talking about the orgasms,” she giggled, her eyes full of mirth, “Being with you helps me to forget the bullshit that harasses me on a daily basis. When I’m around you all I find myself doing is smiling or laughing.”

 

Jughead’s grin was bigger than she had seen before, “I have an idea.”

 

Betty smiled and shifted their bodies so she was laying on top of Jughead's chest and he was beneath her and his hands rested on her lower back above her , “What’s your idea?”

 

“Your last football game is on Friday, how about I come and watch? Afterwards I can take you out to Pop’s,” His thumb grazed her cheekbone as he took in her beauty, “Ya know, a proper date.”

 

Betty kissed him briefly, “I would love that, Jug. I really would.” Betty sighed happily and she laid her head on his chest and listened to the loud beat of his heart against his ribs. They were quiet for a little bit and Betty wondered if he had fallen asleep. She whispered, “Hey Juggie?”

 

“Yeah, Blondie?” His hair came up from her back and started to play with strands of her hair.

 

“If you could have any job, what would you do?” She wondered.

 

He thought hard for a moment, “A writer. I love writing stories, poems, songs, you name it and I’ll write it.”

 

Betty smiled and she looked up, resting her chin on his chest, “Wait, really? I never took you as that type.” 

 

Jughead shrugged sheepishly as he gently pulled her to the mattress so he could look at her better, “Honestly, writing is a good way for me to escape from the mess of my everyday life. My laptop is filled with poems, short stories, hell, even a novel. I like writing, I’m not the best at talking. Writing gives me time to think about what to say and plan out what will happen next. Plus, if something doesn’t go to plan then I can easily erase it. That’s a little harder in real life.”  

 

Betty watched him as he seemed to be deep in thought, “So, you’ve written songs? That’s surprising, then again I didn’t expect you to sing to me in the kitchen.” 

 

Jughead grinned, “I love music a lot, but I don’t think I could ever be a serious musician. I’d miss home too much.” As she listened she traced the lines of his serpent tattoo that trailed off his shoulder and down his arm. “I need commitment and stability in my life, but for some reason I’m always running from it.”

 

Betty raised an eyebrow, “Why do you think that is?” She suddenly worried about how he felt about committing to their possible relationship.

 

Jughead cleared his throat and sat up slightly, obviously uncomfortable with the topic, “My parents marriage was incredibly rocky. So, watching the two people, who were supposed to be a positive example of love for me, fall out of love and basically combust… Well, it fucks a kid up.” Jughead was playing with his ring once again. “I think that’s why I feel that I always have to run and be on my own. I’ve been on guard for myself and JB all my life without the help of anyone else so my natural defense is pushing everyone away. I mean, if I’ve made it this far by myself, why do I need anyone else?” 

 

Betty took notice in the nervous habit and watched as he fought back emotions. She could tell this was the first time he was vocalizing the demons that had been terrorizing him for years, “That sounds terribly lonely.”

 

Jughead nodded as his eyes started to moisten, “I-It is. But I don’t let myself down like other people in my life have. I have trusted too many people and watched them walk out on me without the slightest glance back. I’ve always picked myself up and brushed myself off and kept going, I don’t really expect anyone to be there for me anymore… I think I’ve got this darkness inside of me that just seems to scare people off.” 

 

Betty sat up and straddled his lap, completely uncaring of their unclothed state. She cupped his face and looked deeply into his eyes, “Hey… we all have our demons. We’re all fucked up. Jug, I have darkness too, more than you know.” She brushed his hair off of his forehead, “You have me, JB, and Archie. We are here for you.” She paused and licked her lips as she carefully thought out her next words, “I’m here for you. I can share your darkness with you. It’s not just you anymore, you don’t have to be on guard anymore. I promise, I won’t leave you.”

 

Jughead bottom lip trembled and his hand slid from her back to the base of her neck as he pulled her lips to his. His lips were soft but slightly chapped as he kissed her, it was lively and appreciative. It was also so much more. It wasn’t lust or want, but it was pure and cautious almost as if it was his first time kissing her. She felt a teardrop run down his cheek and smear against hers.

 

Jughead pulled away first, his breath was uneven while an undisturbed trail from his tear settled on his cheekbone, “I’ve never met someone like you, Betty Cooper.”

 

“Trust me, you’re one of a kind as well, Jughead Jones.” She smiled, “What’s your real name?”

 

Jughead dramatically exhaled already shaking off his negative emotions and hiding them away for later, “Nope, I can’t tell you.” When she tried to push further he changed the subject with his grin full of mischief as he glanced behind her, “Have I ever told you how breathtaking your ass is?”

 

Betty bursted out in laughter and she hid her face in the nape of his neck to hide the red of her cheeks, “Shut up.”

 

Jughead smirked as his hands traced her body and cupped the curve of her ass and started to kiss along her shoulder then up her neck, “I’m serious, Princess.” It was crazy how he could feel himself already hardening. “Those leggings you were wearing earlier had me aching all over.”  He bit her earlobe and squeezed her ass as she moaned. Betty’s breathing was already becoming heavy and he could feel her starting to become wet in his lap, “A little excited, Blondie?”

 

Betty didn’t respond instead she kissed him hard and laid back on the bed while pulling him on top of her. She had to admit that that night had been one of the most successful study sessions she had ever attended.

 

***

 

Jughead woke up the next morning to his phone shrieking. He groaned and quickly grabbed it from the side table, his voice was gruff and thick from his slumber, “Hello?”

 

“Jones, get down here. We have a Ghoulie at the Whyte Wyrm, Bones found him sneaking around Riverdale last night. We figured we could get some information out of him. Tall Boy has already started roughing him up to get him ready for you.” Sweet Pea’s voice came through the phone speaker. Jughead sighed and sat up in bed to feel his heart sink when he saw that he was alone and Betty’s clothes had disappeared from his floor. He looked at his clock that read it was already eleven in the morning.

 

“Yeah, okay. I’ll be down there in half an hour. Don’t do anything else to him until I get there.” Jughead hung up and showered. Once he got out the shower and went to brush his teeth in front of the mirror he noticed a note taped to the glass.

 

_ Last night was amazing, I’m sorry I didn’t stay the night. I’ll call you tomorrow once my parents are gone. I’m looking forward to Friday night ;) _

 

_ Yours, Betty _

 

Jughead bit his lip, holding back the grin that threatened to spread across his face at the fact she had called herself his. He sighed happily and dried off his hair with an old towel and quickly brushed it back. He threw on a random pair of jeans and old shirt and flannel while he thought about what to question the Ghoulie and what he should expect from him. As he tied his shoes, he noticed something on his dresser. He stood up to see Betty’s navy blue thong from last night with a note beside them,  _ I hope these make up for my absence this morning…  _

 

Jughead mouth dropped slightly and a smirk quickly overcame his lips. Jughead walked out of the room and into the kitchen where he grabbed an granola bar as he found JB getting ready to leave for a friends house.

 

JB glanced up at him as she sipped her coffee and handed him a fresh cup, “So do you want to tell me about your history with Betty? Because it’s obvious you like her and you two seemed to already know each other.”

 

Jughead ran a hand through his hair and leaned against the kitchen table then picked up his mug and took a sip as he contemplated his answer, “We met at a bar when I was playing Archies gig. We talked a little and we reconnected yesterday when I was at Riverdale High. I swear I didn’t know she was your friend until she showed up at our door.”

 

JB shrugged, “It’s okay… Hey Jay?”

 

Jughead looked at her suddenly feeling concerned, “Hm? What is it Bean?”

 

“What are you guys? Because you two seem crazy about each other.”

 

Jughead scoffed and tried to act nonchalant, “What? Me and Betty? No, no we’re just screwing around.” JB rose an eyebrow at him and he sighed, “Fine, we don’t have a definitive status to our relationship. We’ve never talked about it. I really like her, though. It scares me.”

 

JB clapped happily, “Jay, that’s good! You deserve someone like Betty.”

 

Jughead played with the hem of his shirt nervously, “Honestly, I barely know Betty, but I asked her out so we’re getting dinner after her football game.”

 

JB squealed, “Jay, that is great! You’re going out of your comfort zone and actually looking to go steady with someone.”

 

Jughead blushed, “I’ll be home when you get back from Marley’s.” JB shot him a peace sign as she started to walk out the door, “And JB?”

 

She turned her head, “Yeah?”

 

“Thank you for letting me wreck your study session.” His small smile showed how grateful he was.

 

“You’re lucky she’s not into girls or else it would have been a totally different story.” Her eyes sparkled with mischief and mirth.

 

Jughead laughed, “Go have fun with your friends.” JB closed the door behind her as she walked out and called over her shoulder, “Love you, idiot!”

 

Jughead smiled as he took another bite of his apple, “I love you too, dipshit.”

 

***

 

A loud crack echoed off the cellar walls of the Whyte Wyrms basement as Jugheads fist collided with the man's cheek. Underneath the ropes, he tightened his grip on the arm of the chair as he took hit after hit from Jugheads brass covered knuckles and still stayed silent when asked any questions. Jughead chuckled darkly, the sinister look in his eyes made the blood drain from the man’s face.

 

“So, you still won’t talk, Isaac?” The man turned his head to the side and spit blood from his mouth then gave Jughead a bloody smile in return. Quite honestly, Jughead was done with Isaacs shit. They had been trying to get him to talk for hours. The Serpents had found him trying to lure a drunk girl into his car in the middle of the night. Naturally they acted quickly when they saw the struggle the girl was putting up and knocked the Ghoulie out and now there he was. 

 

Isaac was known to be a scout for the Ghoulies. He went to towns and looked over the territory they were interested to see if it met the standards. Jughead assumed that’s what Isaac had been doing last night, but he wondered why Isaac tried to kidnap the girl.

 

Jughead shrugged his shoulders, “Fine, tough guy. I like games, let’s play.” Jughead slid the brass knuckles off of his hand and set them besides a black briefcase on a table near him. Jughead opened the briefcase and pulled out a Glock19. He casually leaned against the table and faced Isaac as he unloaded the gun and counted how many bullets were in the clip. Four.

 

“You won’t kill me. Serpents aren’t killers.” Jughead noticed Isaac glance between him and the weapon as he watched Jughead reload the gun and turn off the safety. 

 

Jughead shrugged, “That was when my dad was in charge. Things change, Isaac. Plans change.” Jughead moved away from the table and kneeled in front of the man who now had sweat forming on his swollen brow. “Our plans are changing right now. You see, originally, we were going to knock you around a bit and then we figured you’d talk. Since you aren’t talking to us, it’s kinda pointless to keep you around.” Jughead put his hand over the trigger and gently let the barrel rest on the top of Isaac’s thigh.

 

“You could let me go,” Isaac suggested with no fear in his eyes.

 

“But where would the lesson be in that? Then Malachi would just assume that he can walk all over us.” Jughead smiled emotionlessly and spoke in an unnervingly calm voice, “I feel like dumping your body at Malachi’s house would be a much better type of lesson. Then he would know not to let any of his men get caught in Riverdale or the Southside again. What do you think, Isaac?” Isaac chose to stay quiet, he wanted to test the boundaries of the Serpents leader. “No objections? Okay then.” Jughead stood up while he cocked the gun and pointed it at Isaac’s head. Jughead waited for Isaac to object, but it never came. Instead a laugh bubbled out of Isaac's throat, “I knew you Serpents were soft. I’m not going to tell you shit, Jones. You can kill me, but that won’t stop what’s coming. I’m just one of Malachi’s scouts and he won’t back down until he has Riverdale under his thumb.” Jughead dropped his hand from Isaac's head and back to his side.

 

Jughead opened his mouth to defend himself but was cut off by Isaac, “Oh, Jughead Jones. The soft, pansy leader of the Serpents. Want to know something fascinating about Riverdale? The junior at Southside high with the long black hair, the ends dyed blue?” Isaac smirked, knowing that he would hit a nerve.

 

Jugheads eyes narrowed and he dug the gun into the side of Isaac's head, “Don’t you dare bring her into this.”

 

Isaac ignored the threat, “Her names Jellybean, right? Malachi has an interest in her.”

 

Jugheads jaw tightened and his nostrils flared, “Tell me what you’re talking about, Isaac!”

 

Isaac manically laughed and turned to the side and spit blood that was still steadily pouring in his mouth. “Keep an eye on her, Jones. You wouldn’t want a Ghoulie to get her.”

 

Jughead gritted his teeth and brought the gun down from Isaac's head to his knee and he pulled the trigger, the maniacal laughter quickly turned to screams of pain. Blood splattered on the floor and across Jugheads jeans. The loud bang echoed off the walls and made Jugheads ears ring, but he focused on Isaac. “Tell me what the fuck is going on with the Ghoulies. Right now or I blow out your other fucking kneecap.”

 

Isaac was now crying and struggling against the rope as he attempted to coddle his injury, “Malachi has a human trafficking ring, okay?!” He whined, “He wanted me to find places it would be-” He groaned in pain, “B-be easiest to grab girls and find possible customers for heroin deals.” His personality now totally different due to finding out that Jughead wasn’t afraid to use a gun.

 

Jughead crouched in front of him and pointed the gun, now decorated with blood, at Isaac and demanded, “Is there anything else? Why the fuck did you bring my sister into this?! “ His voice bounced off the walls. He could hear how emotionless and cold he sounded, it didn’t sound like him at all.

 

Isaac was crying and shaking his head, “I swear I know nothin’! I am given explicit orders and I follow them without asking questions. I was told to check out Southside High for a girl with long, black hair and colored tips, that was it! He’s just trying to find your weaknesses...” He sobbed, “All Malachi said to me was ‘that everyone is attached to something’ and then sent me on my way! I know nothing else, I swear! He has others watching you to find out the same thing, I’m not the only one!”

 

Jughead gruffly stood up and walked out of the room, slamming the door closed behind him. He looked at Sweet Pea, he looked to be surprised by the violent actions Jughead had shown everyone had known that Jughead wasn’t one for guns. He usually just used them to intimidate, but never actually harm, “Drop him off at the hospital. Take the van without the license plates and stay off main roads.”

 

Jughead grabbed his jacket from a nearby chair and slid it on his shoulders and Tall Boy looked at him, “Where are you going?”

 

The smile and playful nature had been stolen from him and replaced with a hardened and on edge exterior. “I have some business to attend to, I’ll be gone for a day or two.”

 

Tall Boy nodded, “Good luck, Jones. We’ll call you if anything happens.”

 

Without another word, Jughead left the two Serpents behind and prepared himself for what he was about to do next.

 

***

 

Betty sat on her bed texting Kevin and finishing her homework last minute, which was very unlike her. Betty had snuck inside the house that morning at 3 a.m. and slept for only a few hours before her mother woke her up and dragged she and her father to the early morning service at their church. The service had been on purity and abstinence until marriage and she had never wanted a service to be over faster than that one. Her parents were too busy to notice her missing her curfew last night, their minds had been focused on a new article regarding the sudden spike in heroin deaths in towns surrounding Riverdale.

 

Betty fell back onto her pillows and sighed, she hadn’t gotten a text from Jughead today and she was starting to worry. She tried her best to shake the negative thoughts and remembered how he said he was going to take her on a date after her game this coming Friday. She smiled at the memory of her laying on his chest and laughing at his inappropriate comments and the dreamy way he spoke passionately about writing and music while she outlined the tattoo on his chest with her fingers. He had admitted last night that he held back in bed because he didn’t want to put her body through too much since it was her first time. She bit her lip as her imagination wandered to how much better their sex life would get. 

 

Her thoughts were interrupted by her phone alarming her that she had gotten a text. She rolled across her bed to her phone and saw Jughead had messaged her. She exhaled in relief and her smile grew,  _ Meet me in your backyard in 2 minutes. _

 

Betty squealed in excitement and looked at herself in the mirror.  _ Gosh, I look awful,  _ She thought to herself. She was wearing pastel pajama pants with a soft butterfly pattern across them and a t-shirt with a Riverdale High logo printed on it. Her hair was a mess down so she quickly braided it and put on her slippers. It may have been six in the evening, but the sun was already setting and looked gorgeous painted across the sky in oranges, pinks, and purples. She looked around her house to make she her parents were still out at the grocery store and made her way to the backyard. 

 

There he was. She could have pinned him to the wall right then and there with how handsome he looked today. His hair fell perfectly like it always did, and his eyes were more piercing and alert than usual. His jaw was clenched which accentuated his jawline that was already impressively chiseled. His jacket made her heart do a series of jumping jacks. She stepped outside and the cold air hit her like a brick, she suddenly wished she had a cardigan on. She walked onto the grass and her eyes gazed up and down his body and she noticed the blood on his jeans, “Juggie? What happened to your pants? Are you okay? Are you hurt?” She held his hand in hers and inspected him for injuries then she noticed how he was avoiding her eyes. “Jug…” She released his hand and brought it up to cup the side of his neck, “Talk to me. What happened?”

 

Jughead took a deep breath and looked down into her eyes, “Betty, why are we even considering dating?”

 

Betty looked like she had been slapped across the face and she took a step back, “Wh-What? Where the hell is this coming from, Jughead?” She forced the tears that were attempting to surface to disappear. “Last night you acted like you really wanted to be with me.”

 

Jughead ran a hand through his hair and shrugged to hide the fact that this was breaking his heart as much as it was hers, “We just don’t make sense together. I mean, look at you.” He gestured to her. She shifted anxiously and crossed her arms to conserve some body heat. “You’re in high school. You’re a preppy blonde that will be going off to a pristine college next fall who is slumming it with some Southside gang member. Who the hell are we kidding?”

Betty started to dig her nails into her palms as the tears began to bubble up inside of her, “We haven’t even given ‘us’ a chance yet, Jug! You don’t know what good could come out of it!”

 

“Or what bad. We are a ticking time bomb Betty and it’s better to end this now.” Jughead pulled a cigarette from the pack in his pocket and lit it. 

 

“Oh, bullshit. Why are you suddenly saying all this? I need a clear answer, Jughead, because all you’re giving me is fucking bullshit!” she exclaimed. “What changed your mind?” She allowed the tears to pool in her eyes while her voice broke as she spoke as quiet as a mouse, “W-what happened within barely a day?”

 

Jughead bit the inside of his cheek and looked up at the sky as he attempted to keep his exterior hard and cut off, “I just realized we weren’t the right fit for one another.”

 

Betty groaned as the tears fell from her face and she angrily wiped them away as she glared daggers at him, “Bullshit, Jones. Bullshit, bullshit, fucking bullshit!” 

 

He scoffed and blew out the smoke into the chilly early November air then shook his head, “Okay, Nancy Wheeler.”

 

Betty rolled her eyes, “Do  _ not  _ make a joke out of this. The way you talked to me last night, the way you held me after we had sex….” She desperately held onto his flannel in hopes he would stay, “Everything you told me… I-it seemed so- so genuine.”

 

Jughead swallowed hard as he looked into her eyes. The broken green irises were daunting and he knew they would haunt him at night. Another thing he knew, was that he was going to hell for what he was about to say, but he knew she wouldn’t stop if he didn’t do this. “Of course I said that shit. What else would I say if I wanted a guaranteed spot back into your pants.”

 

Betty’s mouth dropped and she took a step away from him while she shook her head, “Y-you’re lying. You said you cared about me!”

 

“When we first started this, I told you that you were playing a dangerous game. I warned you.” Jughead felt tears prick in his eyes and he didn’t try to hide it. “You have your life and I have mine. It’s better that we stay away from each other.” He started toward the gate in her backyard.

 

Betty reached for him, “Jug-Jughead! Can’t we talk about this?!”

 

He barely turned his head over his shoulder, “There’s nothing to talk about.” 

 

Betty cried desperately, “God, you’re such a dick!”

 

“And you deserve better.” 

 

With that, he was gone. Betty sat on the freezing grass as a sob escaped her chest and her nails dug into her palms. Betty cried into her knees and she hiccuped while her broken sobs racked her body, “The worst part is I still don’t believe you…”

 

***

 

JB and Jughead sat in silence as they started their drive to Ohio. JB had seen the blood on his clothes earlier, but didn’t have time to ask, “So are we going to discuss why you have blood on your new jeans? We bought those like a month ago.”

 

“We’re not going to talk about it.” His voice was dull while his knuckles were white against the steering wheel.

 

JB nodded, “Okay, but why couldn’t you have gotten the old ones bloody? You always manage to ruin the new ones.” 

 

Jughead looked at her for a second, “Stop being such a mom.”

 

“You’re not the one who has to clean the stains out.” She deflated slightly, “Well now since I’ll be gone you will.” JB could see how red his eyes were and she could hear the uneven and brokenness of his breathing. She inwardly sighed and wondered what he had gotten himself into, “Do you want to explain to me why you’re taking me to moms three months early?”

 

Jugheads grip tightened on the wheel and his jaw set, “The Ghoulies are getting closer to Riverdale. I was talking to one that was in the basement of the Whyte Wyrm and he told me that Malachi was going to start targeting the ones I care about.”

 

JBs eyes widened and she looked at him as he drove, “They want to hurt me?”

 

Jughead sighed and shook his head, “I don’t know what they would want to do to you. That’s what terrifies me.”

 

They were quiet as JB absorbed what was going on in her brother's life. “What about Betty?”

 

Jughead bit his lip at the painful memory of their breakup, “She’s out of my life now. I did it before I came home.”

 

“Jughead, no! I saw what you two have! You can’t just let that go!” JB ran a hand through her hair in distress. “You need someone like her in your life!”

 

Jughead simply nodded as he struggled to hold back his tears, “Thanks, Bean. I think it’s a little too late for us.” He quickly changed the topic and wiped away a tear that escaped from his eyes. “So are you nervous about your new school?”

 

JB watched him wipe away his tears that were now free falling and placed her hand on his knee, “Jay… I’m so sorry.”

 

“I am too… I should have gotten out when I had the chance,” He shook his head, “You were so right, Bean. None of this would’ve happened if we had left Riverdale after I turned 18.”

 

“But then you wouldn’t have met Betty.” JB consoled. “I don’t think this is the end of you two.” 

 

“It definitely is.” Jughead inhaled a shaky breath, “I told her I asked her out on Friday because I just wanted to keep sleeping with her.”

 

JB brought her hands to her mouth as she gasped and her eyes widened in horror, “Forsythe! How could you say that?!”

 

Jughead released a sob, “Because she kept saying she didn’t believe me, she knew I was lying. I had to keep her away from me! I knew that was the only thing that would push her away completely.” He took a deep, calming breath and focused on the empty highway in front of him. “Betty is relentless. If I told her why I had to break it off with her then she would go back to gathering evidence to prove the Ghoulies guilt to turn into the sheriff just so she and I could be together once again. I can’t have her back in that case, especially with how they’re becoming more and more dangerous.”

 

JB sat quietly trying to digest everything he had just told her, “Promise me something.”

 

“Anything.” Jughead’s voice cracked from heartbreak.

 

“If you two happen to cross paths again, don’t let her get away. You keep her close and you don’t let anyone bring you two apart.”

 

“I couldn’t live with myself if she got hurt, JB…” Jughead sighed and ran a hand through his hair as the image of Betty’s broken, tear-filled eyes appeared in his memory.

 

JB softly spoke after minutes of silence, “Oh Jay, she already did. But it was by you, not the Ghoulies.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5 is already in the works, so you guys will not have to wait so long this time!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick warning: There is mention of assault, drugs, and use of a gun in this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for being patient and I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays! I would like to give a big shout out to my lovely beta @jandjsalmon and my amazing friend @youbuildmeupbeliever for helping me figure out the kinks this chapter held and cheering me on for the next! I hope you like the chapter! xx

Betty was a busy girl. She made sure to find things to keep busy to avoid thinking about Jughead Jones and the way he left her crying in her backyard. The most recent project she had picked up was planning the Winter Formal that Riverdale High was scheduled for the weekend before Christmas. She hadn’t fully thought through the enormity of what she was signing up for before she volunteered. Only after she told Principal Weatherbee that she would love to be the head of the planning committee did she realize that despite her broken heart, she would have to put herself through the pain of providing a romantic atmosphere for everyone else. She could barely conjure a romantic thought let alone give a quality romantic experience to her peers so planning was becoming problematic to say the least. 

Betty released a frustrated sigh and sat at her desk in the Blue and Gold room. She looked at her calendar and picked a red marker from her jar of writing utensils and drew an X through the date December 11th. It had been almost a month since she’d seen Jughead. The day after he broke up with her, Betty had been a mess. Her parents were utterly speechless when she walked downstairs that morning in sweatpants and an old, faded T-shirt, intending to wear them to school that day. Betty hadn’t told them about Jughead, instead she told them that she was feeling down because it’s getting to the time of year when Polly moved away. She was late to school that day because Alice insisted that she change into something more put together and told her that everyone wanted to see a ‘Cooper smile’ - there was no option to be sad when everyone was watching. Hal agreed with her. Betty hadn’t expected anything different from her spineless father and seemingly soulless mother.

After that display, she kept any emotions in. She figured burying them would eventually make them go away within a week or two. Of course that wasn’t the cast, and now Betty was snippy and found herself making destructive decisions. On the other hand, she was also caring less and less about others’ opinions. She was no longer overthinking every situation she was in. Betty felt raw and broken but she also felt powerful and reborn. She was a hurricane of feelings and emotions, she didn’t know who she was anymore. 

“Hey, Betty,” Her thoughts were interrupted by her childhood best friend. “You busy?”

Betty forced a smile, “Hey, Arch. C'mon in. Don’t you have a class this period?”

Archie smiled and sat across from her, “Nothing interesting. I just feel like I haven’t talked to you in forever. You’ve seemed to be acting different lately and I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

She stiffened slightly but kept the smile on her face. “I’m fine.” 

Archie sat back in his chair already knowing the impending conversation was going to be a doozy. “Whenever you say you’re fine, you aren’t. That usually means you have a lot on your chest.”

He watched as she physically deflated, “I don’t want to talk to you about my issues.”

“I’m here for you and I want to help you. I mean we’re best friends, or at least we used to be.” He grimaced and avoided her eyes. It was pretty clear he felt guilty about how they’d grown apart.

Betty’s lips curled and she tilted her head, “Arch, once sixth grade ended, our close friendship was over as well. That’s not only your fault, we both got busy and interested in different things and puberty made us feel weird around one another.”

Archie chuckled, “I’m sorry about that, I really am. I wish I could have been there more for you during the whole Polly thing and whatever you’re going through now.” 

A real smile appeared on her lips, “It’s okay Arch. I’m just… I just stopped seeing a guy and it was an ugly ending. I’m not heartbroken because we barely knew each other, but for some reason, my heart hurts whenever he crosses my mind…” She nervously wrung her hands.

“Who were you seeing?” 

Betty sighed and tried her best to swallow the sadness that was starting to swell in her chest and the emotion starting to form in the throat. “Jughead. Your friend I met at the bar.”

Archie looked taken aback, “Holy shit, really? You and Jughead? Hmmm I should’ve known he would have gone after you, he has a thing for blondes.” When he saw she wasn’t amused he quickly backtracked, “but I’m so sorry you two went south. What happened?” Betty tried to keep the tears back, “Betts, you can cry. You can show emotion. I won’t judge you.”

Betty nodded and steadied her breathing while allowing a few tears to slip from her eyes as she fanned her face in an attempt to calm the redness that was starting to appear in her face, “God I don’t know why I’m crying. I barely knew the guy.” 

Archie reached across the table and held her hand, “Because everyone gets attached at some point.”

“I mean, we were having so much fun together,” She hiccuped and wiped away the tears that fell down her cheeks and softly added, “He even wanted to take me on a date. It wasn’t just about sex. At least I thought it wasn’t.”

“Wait, you had sex with him? That douche bag! He did that and then broke up with you?” He shook his head in disbelief, “Are you sure?”

Betty stared at him in confusion as her emotions settled, “What? Of course I’m sure that we had sex. It might have been my first time, but the last time I checked, sex is when the penis goes in. I’m 100% positive that’s how my experience went.”

Archie exploded in laughter, “No! I meant are you sure he broke up with you?”

Betty insisted, “Yes, Arch. Trust me I’m sure, though I would prefer not to relive that awful evening.” She tried to keep the memories from fogging up her conscience.

Archie put his hands up in surrender, “Sorry, sorry. It’s just- I’ve known him a while and he usually isn’t the kind to ask a girl on a date.”

The journalist in Betty suddenly came alive, “How long have you known Jughead? You never mentioned him before.”

Archie frowned as he tried to remember. “We met when I was 7 and he was 10. His dad, FP, and my dad were best friends through high school and my parents are actually Jughead’s godparents. He and I never really got along, we were both interested in different things and with our age gap we weren’t very good friends.”

He adjusted his chair and continued, “Jughead and I became really close the summer you went to that journalism camp that lasted like all of summer break. I think it was right before we started high school, but a few kids were picking on me outside of the video game store on the Southside and Jughead made them run off by barely raising his voice. He took me to Pops and bought me a milkshake and we caught up. Jughead actually ended up giving me guitar lessons. He and his sister eventually moved in with my dad and me for a little bit that year because his dad was arrested.”

Betty rose an eyebrow quizzically, “How did I not know they were living at your house??”

Archie shrugged, “That was our freshman year and you were cheering, studying, dealing with family drama, and volunteering at Northside Elementary. You were a little busy,” He ran a hand through his hair, “He’s never been this big of a dick though. I mean, he hasn’t been talking to me either. I wonder what his problem is.”

“Would it be creepy if I went to his house to see why he was being so weird?”

“Yeah,” Archie nodded. “Totally creepy, Betty.”

Betty huffed, “Fine. I’ll just focus on the Ghoulie case.”

“Ghoulie as in the gang?” Archie ran a hand over his face. “Betty, you’ve done some reckless shit but this tops all of it. What are you doing with the Ghoulies?”

“I’m just tracking their whereabouts and proving to the town that they’re guilty and the main supplier of drugs to the town.” Betty walked over to her investigation board to show Archie. The map was of Riverdale and it’s few surrounding towns. Each town had numerous amounts of red dots which signified a drug bust, robbery, murder, or anything that related to a Ghoulie type crime. “I’ve dug up a lot of research recently.”

Archie looked over the map, “So how exactly do you plan on busting them?”

“I can’t tell you because you’d try to stop me.” Betty folded her arms across her chest. 

“I just want to know in case something happens to you and I have to explain to your parents where you’ve gone.”

Betty contemplated for a moment then compiled, “Fine, but you can’t stop me, Arch. I’m organizing a Jingle Jangle deal with them. Once we meet up. I’ll be recording the whole thing and after I get away, I’ll turn it into the police.”

Archie covered his face with his hands and sighed loudly and sounded apprehensive when he lowered his and spoke, “That is so dangerous, Betty. You know that out of everyone warned about buying from the Ghoulies, women are cautioned the most. No one knows what they’re up to, but they’re into some shady shit.”

Betty stubbornly straightened her back, “Well someone has to step up to the plate.”

“You could get seriously hurt!” Archie exploded. “You’re being reckless! Do you not realize what you’re getting yourself into?!” 

Betty’s jaw tightened, “I do understand and I will be okay.” She walked away from him and back to her desk to look over her notes.

“I’m going to teach you how to shoot a gun.”

Betty’s head snapped up, “What?”

Archie shrugged as he shoved his hands into his front pockets, “You never know what could happen. Tomorrow after Vixens practice we can go to the woods where I shoot. When are you dealing with them?”

“Saturday the 16th.”

“Isn’t that the day of the dance?”

Betty nodded, “Yeah and because I have to go to the dance I’m going to help set up decorations that morning and then before the dance I was going to meet up with them. It’s part of my plan. They need to think I need the drugs for the after party.”

Archie looked like he would have liked to argue with her but decided against it, “Okay. Well, we have until then to teach you how to shoot a target.”

***

The bar of the Whyte Wyrm smelled like a mixture of cigarettes and cigars, beer, and pine from the Christmas tree that stood in the corner near the pool tables. It smelled like home to Jughead. It made him feel safe. Which was saying something because it wasn’t often that he felt safe anymore. Ever since the Ghoulies had threatened his loved ones and he noticed a pair of men following him, his paranoia had spiked. He often found himself avoiding the loneliness of his empty apartment by spending more time with the Serpents late into the night around the pool table. 

Jughead nursed his chilled whiskey as he sat at the bar long after it had closed. The building was dark except for the overhead lights above the bar and the few lights illuminated the stairs that led to spare rooms. A voice cut through the comforting silence, “You can’t stay away from your apartment forever.”

Jughead looked over and saw Toni step into the dim light. “What are you doing here? It’s like 2 am.” 

Toni shrugged and sat next to him, “I figured you could use some company. You haven’t been yourself since JB left town.”

Jughead sighed and rested his cheek on his fist, “I know I did the right thing… but I can’t help but feel selfish that I wish that she was still here with me. She was the only piece of family- blood-related family- that I had left in my life.”

Toni nodded sympathetically, “I’m sorry, Jug. If it helps, you’re doing a great job leading these guys. Let’s be honest. Without you, the Ghoulies would have overrun us by now.”

“I’m done with this shit. After we settle our beef with the Ghoulies, I’m gone.” Jughead finished his drink with a quick swig allowing the alcohol to course through his veins, “I want a life. I want to have a family of my own without worrying that someone is stalking me.”

“I can’t see you settling down,” Toni chuckled at the idea. “This has been your life for years, Jug. You’ve grown up on this. How are you going to throw it away just like that?”

“Gotta move on sometime.” Jughead ran a hand through his hair, “I want to move on with a woman who loves me. Maybe we can get out of this damn town someday. Just the two of us, ya know? Somewhere free of all this shit.” 

Toni’s smile softened, “Sounds like you already have a girl in mind.”

Jughead shook his head and reached for the half full bottle on the top of the bar. “I pushed her away. I’m sure she’s moved on already.”

“Now you’re trying to make yourself upset.” Toni chided, pulling the bottle out of his reach and putting it away.

“I really hurt her, Ton. Like really bad. I wouldn’t be surprised if she never talked to me again.” Jughead blinked away the mist that started to fill his eyes. He knew he deserved every bit of pain he was feeling. Betty was better off without him.

Toni didn’t miss the emotion he was attempting to hide, “Okay so you fucked up. Big whoop. Be big enough to apologize to her. That’s the first step. Then from there, you can judge if she’ll slowly bring you back or if she’ll completely kick you to the curb.”

Jughead nodded. He knew he had pushed Betty away to keep her safe from the Ghoulies and while he wished it was as easy as Toni said, he knew he could live with a broken heart as long as it meant Betty was safe. “Thanks, Toni… don’t tell Sweet Pea about this. I’ll never live it down.” He chuckled as he stood to his feet and stretched. 

“My lips are sealed,” She pretended to lock her lips with a key and proceeded to throw the invisible key over her shoulder. “Now let’s get you home.”

***

Snow had descended upon Riverdale and the temperature seemed to drop more every day. Betty was not looking forward to wearing a dress to the dance that night. Around her, the forest was covered with a blanket of white that would have lived up to her mother's idea of perfection. She was standing in the middle of the woods with her gun securely in her hand and many layers attempting to conserve heat her body radiated. She wore an olive green winter coat that was sleek and puffy, it made her green eyes pop and the dark bags beneath her eyes slightly fade. Her skin was make up free and flushed from the chilling breeze that cut through her while the blemishes that occasionally appeared on her skin were exposed. 

She aimed at the bottle and took a shot. The ringing in her ears hadn’t stopped. She knew it was from the loud bang of the gun, but she had to get more practice in so she wasn’t planning on stopping anytime soon. Betty was running low on time to better her aim and technique with her handgun. Honestly, she couldn’t focus with Archies arms wrapped around hers as he tried to show her how to shoot. She couldn’t focus because of how wrong it felt. He was dating Veronica and he had never paid any special attention to Betty until now.

“Betty, are you even aiming?” Archie asked, his tone growing impatient as he moved away from her and created space between them that she eagerly welcomed. “I feel like you aren’t taking any of this seriously. You could really get hurt out there and you need to know how to shoot in case you have to defend yourself!”

 

Betty glared at him, “You breathing down my neck is not helping. I do not need you, I am fine and I will be fine.” 

Archie scoffed as his foot dug into a pound of ice and snow, “You have only hit the target twice and we’ve practiced for the past five days. You better be careful when you see them tonight.” He took the gun from her.

Betty’s mouth fell slightly agape and she stole it back from his grasp, “I will be fine. I can handle myself better than you know.” She focused on the target that was mapped out by Archie. She took aim and pulled the trigger which released the bullet with a loud pop and punctured the target down the middle. Betty turned to Archie with a cocky smile spread on her lips, “Fuck you, I can handle myself, Andrews.” 

Archie rolled his eyes, “Fine. If you don’t show up to the dance tonight, it’s not my fault.”

Betty shrugged sassily, “I’m going to be fine.” She turned the safety on.

“Ya know what? I don’t know why the hell I’m helping you.” Archie suddenly sounded bitter and it caught Betty off guard. “This is dangerous and I don’t want to feel at fault if you get hurt. I don’t know why I even considered helping you.”

Betty grabbed her keys and stashed the gun away in her purse, “Okay, Andrews. After you figure out why you’re being so damn indecisive, let me know. Either you continue to help me or you can fuck off! Your choice.” She gave him a final glance, “I’m sick of being let down by you. First, our friendship, then you ignoring me the moment Veronica moved to town, and now this. I’m not surprised that you’re questioning staying and helping me. You leave me every time so just go ahead and do it again.”

With that, Betty walked to her car before Archie could say anything else and drove off leaving tire tracks imprinted in the snow and Archie standing alone questioning his actions.

***

Alice and Hal Cooper sat at their dinner table surrounded by Christmas lights that hung off their walls in spirit of the upcoming holiday. The two of them had been more tolerant of each other than usual, feeling more like friends than business partners, and it was nice to easily decide on decisions for new article topics and different rumors to investigate. 

“Have you noticed Betty acting a little… off? She hasn’t seemed to be herself recently.” Alice asked while she typed feverishly on her laptop. 

Hal looked up from the newspaper clippings and his notebook, “Betty? Yeah, I asked her about it when she and I went out for breakfast, she said she was fine.” Hal glanced at a ripped piece of newspaper again then threw it in the nearby trashcan, “I don’t think this is a good topic to investigate, Alice.” 

Alice looked up at Hal and her eyes narrowed slightly and she sat back while crossing her arms over her chest, “Hal, don’t ruin the good thing we’ve had going this past week. Looking into the Serpents recent spike in violence is a good way to warn our town that the Southside is becoming a bigger threat than it was before.”

Hal massaged his temples, “They could come after us. Their leader… I’ve heard things about him.”

Alice sat up in interest, “What have you heard? Is their leader still F.P’s son?” Alice froze and looked at him suddenly perplexed, “Why are you down there in the first place, Hal?”

Hal’s eyes widened and his speech quickened, “I go down there to visit the library because their library is the only library in town and I wanted to find books on Southsides history so we could maybe use it on this article.”

Alice didn’t believe him, but she didn’t feel like arguing with him. Their marriage was hanging by a thread. They both knew that they would be a lot happier if they divorced, but then The Register would go down in flames right along with their marriage and neither of them felt like going through the process of splitting the company between the both of them. “Mhm. Now, what is this about their leader?”

“So the Serpents have been on the down low for the past five or six years, but apparently their leader is bringing the Ghoulies into town.” Alice gasped and Hal nodded, “He is making the gang more and more violent- like I mean shooting people. He’s becoming dangerous, Alice. I heard he’s having his men dump bodies.”

Alice scoffed, “I knew F.P. and if his son is anything like him then he is not killing people. Threats and hurting them is not below him though. I’m not afraid of a Jones, they’re all the same.”

Hal sighed and shook his head, “Alice, I saw him a few days ago. The guy makes other bikers quake at the sight of him. He carries a gun on him and he has a permanent snarl on his face, he’s bad news.”

The front door swinging open interrupted their conversation and their daughter’s voice rang through, “I’m home. You guys here?”

“In here, Elizabeth!” Alice's sickly sweet voice echoed off the walls. “How was breakfast with Archie? You two were out early this morning.” Betty made her way to the dining room, “Has he finally broken up with Veronica and realized that he likes blondies more than brownies?”

Betty wrinkled her nose, “Please, Mom. I’m past Archie, have been for years.”

“I just worry, I mean, you don’t have a date for the dance, Dear.” Her mother impatiently tapped her fingers on the polished wood of the table. 

“I think I’ll manage, Mother.” Bettys forced a smile on her lips. “So, how’s work coming along? It’s Saturday, I figured you two would give yourselves a break.”

Alice cackled, “Oh, sweet there’s no rest for the wicked. Besides, we have a new article that I am absolutely thrilled about. I’ll have to tell you later when you’re free, but it is almost noon and it looks like someone can’t get enough of you.” She motioned to the front door which held bashful Archie Andrews. “Archie, dear, please come inside! Can I get you anything?”

Archie’s eyes were wide as his glance shifted around the room, “I, um, just wanted to talk to Betty, Mrs. Cooper.” 

Alice looked at Betty and shooed her out of the room, “Have fun, kids.”

Betty suppressed a sigh and closed the door behind her as she shuffled outside with Archie, “What do you want, Archie?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“I’m sorry,” His eyes were distraught. “Betts, I’m sorry for being so indecisive… But please forgive me. I promise I’m not gonna let you down this time.” He lowered his voice so no one could hear him, “I just… I just don’t feel right about you going along with this. The Ghoulies are dangerous and if you get hurt-”

“If I get hurt then you’ll keep on going with your life because this is my choice, not yours.” Betty interrupted him. “I am responsible for anything that happens to me. Not you.” She snapped at him.

Archie winced, “Okay, okay. Just text me once you’re safe. You better be at the dance- no later than nine.”

Betty nodded, “I will. I’m dealing with the Ghoulies then coming straight to the dance.”

Archie furrowed his brow while tilting his head, “What do your parents think you’re doing before the dance? And how are the Ghoulies not going to hunt you down after you turn them in?” 

“I told them that on my way to the dance I’d be stopping by the store to get a present for Veronica, Ethel, and you.”

Archie chuckled, “Betty Cooper doing last minute Christmas shopping? That doesn’t sound like you.”

“You are correct, I got your presents at the beginning of the month. My mom doesn’t need to know that though.” Betty playfully winked. “And to answer your other question, I’m extremely extra and I have a dark wig and color contacts, I’m going to be fine.”

“So this may actually work?” Archie grinned and shook his head, “I’ll see you tonight then. What are you planning on wearing? The usual?”

“My dress is black, actually. The pastel phase is long gone.” She smiled, “I’ll see you later, Archie.” 

***

The smoke of his third cigarette lingered outside the window as Jughead read the newspaper that reported another murder. He suspected the culprit was the Ghoulies, but he seemed to be blaming them for everything lately. The heat of his breath making a thick cloud as it came in contact with the cold air outside of his bedroom window. Jughead sat and welcomed the cold air nipping at his skin. 

Setting his cigarette in an ashtray, Jughead laid on the messy sheets that topped his bed. They no longer smelled of Betty’s lavender and cedarwood lotion and body wash. Instead, they smelled of his cologne which wasn’t as comforting as Betty’s scent. He missed her delicate touch and her fierce kisses. He wanted her arms around his waist as they watched movies. He wanted to sit on his couch and play his bass as she read her favorite classic novels. Jughead wanted her. He wanted her corny jokes. He wanted her small talk. He wanted her laugh. He wanted her.

The worst part was that he knew he couldn't have her. God, he had been doing so well with not thinking about her. He had avoided and dodged all thoughts that contained her, but while he was cleaning up his room he stumbled across her notes and the yearning in his heart came roaring back. When the yearning came back, it came hard and more persistent than it was when he’d left her. He was trying his best to suppress the emotions that he wasn’t allowed to have. He knew this was going to be hard… but he hadn’t expected it to be this hard. He suddenly craved another cigarette. He wanted to quit the bad habit. Hell, he was wanting a lot of things.

He pulled out his phone and dialed his sister. “Hello?”

Jughead face brightened with a smile, “JB, hey! How’s Toledo?”

Jughead could hear her smile, “Not awful. I’m actually getting ready for a date.”

It took a moment for Jughead to process what his little sister had said, “A date? Really? You found someone?? You? Miss ‘love-is-not-real-and-I’m-fine-alone’??”

JB laughed, “I guess I just had to get away from Riverdale. You’ll have to meet her the next time you’re in town. Anyway, how are you holding up?”

Jughead tried to sound cheery, “I’m okay. I keep myself busy.”

JB scoffed, “That wasn’t anywhere close to believable, Jug.”

Jughead smiled into the phone, “I’m just adjusting.”

“Well, I hope you adjust quickly. I hate to leave you, but I have to go, Jug. Kat is here. I’ll text you tonight, okay??”

Jughead was caught off guard by her sudden want to hang up with him, “Uh, yeah. Have fun tonight. I love you.”

“I love you too!” Just like that, she was gone and he was alone again. The silence around him was heavy.

His phone rang interrupting his soundless room. Jughead wasn’t wanting to talk to anyone else that evening, but he was hit with a sudden pain of worry when he saw it was Sweet Pea. He answered it, “Hello?”

Sweet Pea’s voice was gruff and urgent, “The Ghoulies just bombarded us at the Wyrm. Jones, we have three down.”

Jughead’s eyes widen and his fists tightened into a ball, “What the hell happened?! What do you mean we have three down?”

Sweet Pea was panicked, “I.. I don’t know! We were enjoying ourselves and next thing you know a couple Ghoulies come in and we asked them to leave,” He took a shuddering breath, “They didn’t like that and they opened fire on us! Toni, Bones, and Tall Boy were the only ones hurt and they’re being patched up now. You need to talk to Malachi, you need to get them to back off.”

Jughead aggressively ran his hand through this midnight locks, “I’ll go. Keep me updated on how those three are doing okay? Where were they hit?”

“All flesh wounds.” He paused, “Does this mean the turf war is really happening?”

Jughead sighed, “Yeah, it does.”

***

Betty had chosen to straighten her hair and leave it down for the dance later that night. Her dress hugged her chest and was made of a thin lace meant to tease little bits of her skin from the dip in her chest to the sleeves on her wrists. The dress fell to her feet and had silver beads that were sprinkled amongst the black intricate lace that teased her long legs that were accentuated by her sleek black five inch heels. Betty wore simple silver ball earrings that complimented the bits of silver throughout her dress. She decorated her eyes with a seductive smokey eye and elongated her eyelashes with her favorite mascara. Her plump lips and perfectly filed nails were painted a dark, intimidating red that made her feel empowered. 

She stood in front of the mirror put in her brown colored contacts and wrapped her hair up then put on her dark, long-haired wig. She gently brushed her new brown locks and felt a surge of power inside herself. She grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder, it was heavy with the weight of her wallet and gun. Betty took a deep breath and stood in front of her mirror and stared at the foreign reflection in front of her. She hoped the bad feeling rising in her stomach was for the dance and not the Ghoulies. 

As she drove to the abandoned factory site to meet with the Ghoulies she dreaded how the sun was already setting and that night was quickly falling in. 

“Don’t worry. You have the money for them and nothing will go wrong.” She took a reassuring breath. “If things do go to shit then you have a gun and you took self-defense classes… when you were like thirteen.” Her pep talk to herself didn’t make her feel any better.

She pulled to the deteriorating building to find another car waiting for her with two men standing outside of it. Betty stepped out of the car and left footprints in the freshly fallen snow. Her stomach dropped at the man's cold voice, “Are you Holly?”

Betty nodded, “I’m Holly. Are you Malachi and Victor?” She managed up her courage and stood tall.

A man with thick, dark brown curls and sinister dark eyes smiled at her, “I’m Malachi. This deal can be over with quickly if you have the money, Precious.”

Betty wrinkled her nose and spoke with a sudden wave of fire, “Don’t call me that.”

Malachi looked at his blonde henchmen, “Looks like we have one with sass. Listen here, Northsider. Give us the money, we’ll give you your JJ and then we’ll be on our way.”

Betty handed him the money, “Here. All of it’s there. Now, where’s my JJ?”

Malachi’s eyes dragged up and down her body, his imagination unclothing her. He reached out and instead of taking the money from her hand he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his embrace, “Ya know what, Sweets? I think I’ll take you back home for myself instead. How’s that sound?”

Betty shook her head ferociously. “No, thank you,” she answered with a glare. She tried to reach for the gun in her purse, but the angle he held her made it impossible. She almost got out of his arms, but he grabbed ahold of the extra fabric on her dress causing her sleeve to rip and his grip to dear into her waist. She tried to knee him and kick and punch, but nothing was working. She opened her mouth to scream, but his hand covered her mouth and forced to stay shut. She thrashed and squirmed, but he was too strong. She couldn’t reach her gun. She released whimpers of pleas. His laugh made the color drain from her face and she squirmed and fought in his arms only to be rewarded with a hit on the back of her head and her world went black.

***

When Betty woke up the first thing she recognized was the smell of marijuana in the air that surrounded her. Her head was pounding. Her throat was dry. She couldn’t move her arms or legs. She slowly opened her eyes and winced at the light the lamp from across the room provided. She tried to swallow the panic that was rising in her chest as she saw that she was tied to a chair that she was positive could give her tetanus. Her blonde hair was no longer hidden by the dark wig, her blonde mane was tangled and set free.

She slowly blinked and swallowed the bloody saliva that rested in her mouth. The room around her was underground, or at least she assumed from the lack of windows and chill temperature. The walls were a filthy beige and the floor was cement with stains and she didn’t want to know where they had come from. Betty silently worried about how long she had been out and if her family knew about her kidnapping. She took a deep breath and she whispered to herself, “You can do this. Calm down, you will get out of this.”

The faded wooden door creaked open and in walked Malachi. 

“Where am I?” Her voice was hoarse as she tried to sound firm, “Where’s my purse?” Betty hadn’t realized until now that her purse was missing. 

Malachi’s lips curled into a smile that made Betty want to run, “Don't worry, relax. You’re safe with us. I don’t think we properly met. I’m Malachi and you are Elizabeth Cooper, correct?”

Betty looked weary, “How do you know my name?”

He pulled a piece of plastic from his back pocket, “Your license we pulled off of you gave me all the information I needed.” He pulled over a spare chair and ran the smooth corner of the plastic up her shoulder and across her exposed collarbone, “If I’m correct, your parents are the owners of the Riverdale Register, right? Now, why is little miss Cooper interested in buying some JJ from us? Did your parents put you up to it?”

“I am on my way to a dance tonight and I have an after party later. I was hoping to get something from you guys to help bring some more energy.” Betty glared at him. “My parents have nothing to do with this.”

“Yes, but using the name Holly? Why did you have to hide, baby?” Malachi wondered as he continued to trace the exposed skin. Betty attempted to lean back away from his touch, but couldn’t get far.

“Because I knew that you wouldn’t sell to me if you knew who my parents were.” 

He leaned in closer to her and she felt uncomfortable with how close his face was to hers. She could feel his hot breath on her cool skin, “Sure. Well, I think you’re lying. And usually I would punish you, but instead, I’m just going to keep you with me.”

“Bullshit!” Betty exclaimed. “People will notice I’m missing!”

Malachi’s placed a sickly wet kiss on her lips then placed tape across her mouth before he gently brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers and gently shushed her as she flinched back from his touch. “It won’t be too bad, I promise.” His hand danced along her shoulder that was exposed from the rip in her dress, “I’ll be gentle, always.” He wrapped his arm around her bicep and his grip tightened, “Unless, you step out of line. Then I will make your life hell. Do you understand this, Precious?” She nodded quickly as tears escaped and his nails broke the skin on her arm. “Good. I’m so happy your mine and only mine.” His smile was sinister, a smile of a madman. A moment later another Ghoulie gestured that he needed him and Malachi nodded before turning back to her. “I’ll be back in a little bit. I have some snakes to deal with.” 

Betty felt her heartbeat quicken and she twisted in her restraints in panic, but almost as soon as it started, she calmed right down. Her hand had been cut on a piece of sharp metal and it had given gave her an idea. She started to drag the ropes across the sharp metal and slowly felt the ropes starting to fray.

Malachi walked upstairs to find the one and only Serpent leader waiting with anger pumping through the blood in his veins. Malachi cackles, “Jughead Jones. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Malachi rested his hands on his hips and flashed the gun that rested in its holster.

Jughead snarled, “I want to know why the fuck you opened fire on my men. You know damn well that you aren’t allowed on our turf.” His pointer finger jabbed Malachi in the middle of the chest with such force it slightly knocked Malachi off his balance.

Malachi pushed Jughead finger off his chest and took a step forward, “For now it’s your turf, but not for long.”

Jughead glared at him, but before he could continue on a Ghoulie came up from the basement “Malachi, that Cooper chick just cut through her ropes! I have no idea where she ran off too!”

Jughead snapped, “You have Betty Cooper in your basement?! Betty fucking Cooper?! How dare you touch a hair on her fucking head!” Jughead launched himself at Malachi but was held back by other ghoulies. 

Malachi devilishly raised an eyebrow, “Struck a soft spot have I? Funny she didn’t mention you when we discussing why she was trying to buy JJ from my men and I or when I kissed her.” Jughead jaw was rigid, “You know anything about this, Jones?”

Jughead swallowed his anger and harshly shrugged off the Ghoulies from his shoulders, “That was her Serpent initiation. She’s a part of my crew. I’m taking her back.”

Malachi looked conflicted, but creepily nodded, “Very well.” Jughead walked past him as he called over his shoulder, “I’ve got my eye on her now Jones, I want her beauty for myself. I guess it’s going to be a fun little competition now. After all, she is mine.”

Jughead stiffly turned around, his eyes dark with rage, “What did you just say?”

“Watch your back because she may be a Serpent’s whore today, but tomorrow could be a different story.” His smirk showed he had wicked intentions, “There isn’t an exit down there. She’s probably hiding in a cabinet.” He threw Jughead Betty’s purse. “Watch your back, Jones.”

Jughead breathing was harsh, his vision was red. He made his way down to the basement and looked around until he saw a flash of blonde behind him, “Blondie, hitting me a book won’t do shit.” He turned around and his heart broke when he saw his Golden Girl gripping a thick book to use in defense. The raw terror and smeared red lipstick made him want to hold her until she felt safe again, but that didn’t change the anger he felt towards her and towards Malachi. She wore a sexy black dress and was missing a heel, a breathtaking mess. 

“Jug?” She looked surprised and she dropped her arms that were ready to attack with the book she held, “Why are you-? Wait, you came to help me?” Jughead brought her into a tight and safe embrace breathing out in relief to see she hadn’t been hurt. Her arms wrapped his waist and she released a shaky breath into his chest. He held her there for just a second before he pulled away from her. Her eyes searched his and for just a moment, before anger overtook them, his eyes were soft as he gazed down on her. She felt something flutter in her chest and a thought crossed her mind, “Was I right? Does he still care?” 

But then Jughead was livid again and she could tell by simply glancing at him. “This is fucking ridiculous, Betts. I can’t believe I found you here! You promised you’d stop digging into this. You are damn lucky I was here! I shouldn’t have to be lecturing you like a child right now, Betty!” Jughead ran a hand over his face and took a breath to calm himself. He softly grabbed her arm and gently tugged her along, “We’ll talk in the car. Not here. I need to get you somewhere safe.”

Betty immediately regretted her passion for investigating and digging up the truth. Jughead’s face was stone cold as he brought her out of the sketchy building and past the Ghoulies. She had a feeling this was not the reunion she had been hoping for.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! My friends, you have all been so patient and encouraging! I have to especially thank, @youbuildmeupbeliever, @jandjsalmon, and @elegantmoonchild for pushing me through my rough patches! To thank the wonderful readers, I have a super steamy smut scene at the end of this chapter... Like I had to wait until everyone in my house was asleep to write it lol Thank you guys!!

The two of them sat in silence in his truck as snow began to fall once again. Jughead pulled his seat belt over his chest and buckled it into place. “Is there anywhere I can take you so you can hide from the Ghoulies? I’m sorry, but I can’t take you back home, Betty. It’s not safe-” He began to explain himself.

 

“No, no that’s fine. I was planning on moving out soon anyway.” She nervously played with the hem of her torn dress. “Just take me to Thornhill mansion. Cheryl is my sister’s sister-in-law.” 

 

Jughead nodded, taking note in her eagerness to get out of her house. “Things aren’t good at home?”

 

Betty looked out her window, “Jug, I would prefer it if you would just drop me off. I don’t want to make small talk or share about my life if you’re just going to leave me behind again.”

 

Jughead winced at the comment and started the car, “Lucky for you, baby girl, with the stunt you pulled I’m going to be by your side a lot more from now on.”

 

She turned and stared at him in confusion. “Why do you suddenly care again? We had nothing but radio silence for over a month and now you’re deciding to talk to me? What the hell, Jones?” Betty sighed but her eyes begged for an answer.

 

“I care because I just found you in the basement of a dangerous gang after you had been kidnapped by them. How could I not be concerned?” He pulled out of the parking lot, “I mean, the last time we had talked you dropped your investigation on the Ghoulies. Why did that change?”

 

“I reopened the case that you told me to close.” Betty admitted bluntly, “Just drop me off at Cheryl’s and we can go back to living our separate lives.” 

 

Jughead winced at the hostility in her voice, “Betty, I never meant to hurt you… I had to do it to keep you safe from the Ghoulies. I still care about you… I was worried that I would put you in danger and I panicked. I swear I didn’t want to hurt you.” Jughead sighed, “I still care about you, Betts. I still want you to be safe.”

 

Betty’s voice was serious, “That wasn’t your decision. It was my choice to be hurt, to take chances, and to risk my own safety.” She swallowed the emotion that had begun building up in her throat, “I understand why you broke up with me… but that doesn’t mean I’m going to forgive you or run straight back into your arms.”

 

“But Betts… Please, baby, I promise I wasn’t really using you for sex, I was lying because I could tell you knew I was bullshitting the break-up. I had to make it believable… The Ghoulies had threatened the ones I cared about and I didn’t want you to get caught in the crossfire.” 

 

“I 100% understand that you had good intentions and I appreciate your reasoning, but I really liked you Jughead. It scared me how much I liked you and I was willing to go out on a limb to be with you… I want to come back to you. I do. I missed you more than you know. I’m just feeling conflicted, because I’m torn between taking time to trust you again and running right back to you.” 

 

His hand reached out and held hers. He interlocked their fingers. “Betts, I don’t expect you to run back into my arms. I don’t expect us to get back together. I just want to ensure your safety until I get rid of the Ghoulies.” His voice broke. He sighed and softened his voice, “I want you to know that just because I broke up with you it doesn’t mean I stopped caring about you.” 

 

Betty looked at him and felt herself start to smile, “I knew you still cared…” Her smile widened, “I knew it.”

 

Jughead shrugged, “I mean, how could I not? It’s hard to forget about someone as unique as you, Betty Cooper.”

 

“Let me tell ya… you’ve done a number on me as well, Jughead Jones.” Betty yawned and rested her head on the window and allowed her surprisingly heavy eyes to close for a little while as silence fell between the two.

 

About twenty minutes past before Jughead pulled up the long, winding snow-covered gravel driveway and put his worn down truck in park. Jughead got out of the car and closed the door behind him. Betty sat up and rubbed her eyes. She grabbed her purse and hesitantly got out of the truck and attempted to make her way up to the large front door barefoot until Jughead scooped her up in his arms. She gasped in surprise and the sudden lift but wasn’t complaining. She missed his arms. He carried her to the front door and put her back down on the snowless front door mat then put his jacket over her lace covered shoulders when he noticed the goosebumps that rested on her skin. His familiar musk invaded her senses and made them come alive.

 

“Thank you for everything tonight,” she quietly said, as her big eyes peered up at him. The porch light brought out the dark skin underneath his eyes, it was obvious he hadn’t been sleeping enough. 

 

“You're my weak spot, Coop. It seems I’ll do almost anything if it means it’ll help you.” Jughead supportively gave her shoulder a squeeze then he reached past her and rang the doorbell.

 

Cheryl eventually came to the door and opened it. She looked the same as she did at the wedding. Even with the temperature being unbearably cold, Cheryl was dressed in scandalous silk sleeping shorts and a matching silk camisole top. Her hair was a unique red that was curled in relaxed beach waves while she still wore her make-up from earlier in the day.  Her eyes were outlined with perfectly curved eyeliner while the red in her hair was complemented by cherry red lipstick that plumped her lips and secretly made Betty jealous. She also wore a long luxurious silk robe that brushed the floor behind her as she walked. That didn’t surprise Betty, Cheryl had always had a more dramatic and excessive lifestyle. 

 

“Betty?” Cheryl looked at Betty up and down wondering why she looked like such a wreck. “What the hell are you doing here?” She moved out of the doorway and motioned for them to come inside. “Do you need help jumping your car or something?” She looked at Jughead and subtly bit her lip, “Who are you, Mr. Dark-Handsome-and-Charming?”

 

“His name is Jughead and he isn’t here to flirt.” Jealousy coated Betty’s voice and she quickly backtracked once she realized it. “He’s helping me get out of a problem that I got myself into.”

 

Jughead immediately recognized the flirtatious aura coming from Cheryl and noticed Betty glaring at Cheryl. He smirked, finding humor in her jealousy. “You must be Cheryl Blossom. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” 

 

Cheryl looked between the two and felt the tension in the air. She figured they had history. She played along with Jugheads game and smiled cheekily while she held out her hand to shake his, “Oh, trust me. The pleasure is all mine.” Cheryl liked games. She could tell that Jughead cared for Betty. From her bedroom window she had seen him carry Betty up the driveway and she was wearing his jacket. She assumed the two were in a little bit of a rut. Cheryl knew she could help fix that. Jughead reached out to grasp her hand and softly brought her knuckles up to his lips and placed a kiss on top of them. 

 

Betty rolled her eyes and grit her teeth, “Look, Cheryl, if you are done flirting with Jughead can we talk for a moment? This is really important.”

 

Cheryl giggled at Jughead then reluctantly looked back at Betty, “What do you need? Bail money? Fake passport? Condoms?”

 

Betty was taken aback, “No. I’ve never been arrested, I’ve never had to flee the country, and condoms are cheap. I don’t need you to buy them for me.”

 

Cheryl shrugged, “I just know how your mother is. If she even found a simple receipt for condoms then she would flip her shit. I would understand if you needed me to buy them for you.”

 

Jughead wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at Betty which made her roll her eyes and smack his arm that was closest to her, “Look, I need to stay on the down-low for a little while. I was wondering if I could crash here.”

 

“Of course!” Cheryl smiled giddily, “It’s always so quiet here, it drives me nuts! Stay as long as you’d like.” She looked up at Jughead and smirked, “Would you prefer your own room? Or will you be sharing a room with Betty?”

 

Jughead glanced at Betty. Her cheeks became pink as she became interested in her shoes. “I don’t think he’s staying.”

 

“I’m definitely staying, Betty, But my own room will be just fine.” He brought a hand up and cupped her cheek, “I’m not leaving you.”

 

She absentmindedly leaned into his touch, “But Jug… my parents would be livid. I don’t know what I would tell them or what they would do…”

 

He looked deeply into her in the eyes with that boyish smile that he wore so well, “Betty if I know anything about you it’s that you are strong willed and unbelievably persuasive.” His hand moved to the back of her neck and he felt goosebumps raise on her skin, “You’re an adult. Tell them to fuck off, Blondie. I know you can do it.”

 

Betty heart melted and she had the sudden urge to reach out and kiss him. “Thank you, Jug.”

 

Cheryl grabbed Betty’s hand and pulled her out of Jugheads grasp, “C’mon, I’ll show you to your room and help you get comfortable.”

 

Cheryl had already forgotten about Jughead who couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away from the blonde as she tugged Betty up the stairs. “Anything for you, Betts.” 

 

***

 

The coffee cup fell from her grasp and stained Betty’s beige carpet. “What do you mean you’re moving out? You’re still in school, Betty. This is ridiculous,” Alice Cooper squeaked.

 

Betty had been nervous to visit her parents and tell them she was moving out. Her mind was racing, in fact, it had started racing when she was tied up in Malachi’s basement and it hadn’t seemed to stop. She was now constantly anxious and on edge. Betty had spent her night awake in bed because she was afraid that one of the Ghoulies would crawl through her window and take her again. Betty was terrified, but she didn’t know why. She didn’t know why she suddenly felt as if someone was always watching her. She didn’t know why she wanted someone sleeping next to her at night. Betty didn’t want to be alone. Deep down she wanted Jughead to hold her close and to kiss her to take her mind off of the chaos that she had caused and make her feel safe again, but she wasn’t going to admit that to anyone, let alone him. 

 

Betty continued to pack up her suitcases while her mother stood frozen in the doorway with Hal behind her, “I mean that I’m going to move in with Cheryl. I love you both, but I- I want space. And Cheryl was just saying how alone she felt in the big house now that her mom moved to the city permanently.” It was a white lie, but it might help ease her mother’s worry a bit.

 

Alice looked as if she was trying not to tear up and it caught Betty by surprise, “But Elizabeth… it’s almost Christmas! What are we going to do then? You’re still in high school! You’re still a child!

 

“I’ll come over on Christmas morning,” Betty promised and she stood in front of Alice and held her hands, “Mom, everything will be fine. This was going to happen sometime. I will be fine in school, nothing will change.” Betty gave her a reassuring smile.

 

“You don’t even have a car, Betty,” Alice attempted to reason, “You always borrow mine! What are you going to do without my car?”   
  


“Cheryl said I could use one of her cars until I save up enough for my own.” She lied, she was currently using Jugheads truck to get from place to place. 

 

Alice looked at Hal, “Hal, are you really going to allow this to happen?!” 

 

Hal shook his head angrily, “I can’t believe you’re leaving us for that wretched family! I thought you were better than this, Betty!” He crossed his arms over his chest tightly. “You are a Cooper. You are staying in this house until you graduate. Once you graduate then you can do whatever you damn please, but right now? You’re staying here with your mother and me.”

 

“What the hell do you mean I’m staying here?” Betty finished loading her bags and looked up at her dad in disbelief, “I am eighteen. I’m an adult. If I have someone offering to help me escape from this hell that we call home then I will take them up on their offer.”

 

Alice nervously played with her locket that hung around her neck, “Betty, we love you. Why are you wanting to run away from us?”

 

Betty slung a backpack over her shoulder, “I know you love me but you do an awful job of showing it. Have neither of you noticed how unhappy I’ve been? Oh wait, of course you two wouldn’t because you are constantly at each other’s throats! You are always fighting and making me the middle-man and expecting me to pick a side!” Usually when Betty cried she felt guilty, like she was letting down everyone by not being happy. However, this time when Betty started to cry she wasn’t embarrassed or feeling guilty about it. She had kept this bottled up for so many years and now she was finally letting it go. “When I was younger, I wanted to have a relationship like the one you two had… but as I got older I saw behind the curtains and now I’m afraid that I may fall down the same path of unhappiness.” Her parents stood there in shock as their daughter sobbed the truth that they had not wanted to face.

 

Betty wiped her cheeks and hiccuped, “I mean, Dad, you rarely pay attention to me unless we’re fixing up a car together. If we’re not fixing a car then you’re out of town on ‘work’, but I’m pretty sure we all know what you are actually doing. If you’re going to cheat on our family then at least have the decency to leave us first-”

 

“Sweetie… It’s not that simple-” He interrupted her and tried to hug Betty, but she took a step away from him.

 

“Don’t tell me that bullshit. I’m smarter than the both of you think.” She glared at him. Her crying had slowed down and now they were hot and angry tears. “Mom, you push this image of perfection onto me and I can’t handle it anymore! A part of me wants to be your perfect daughter who does no wrong and won’t repeat Polly’s mistakes, but another part of me wants to say ‘fuck it’ and just rebel against your dumb rules and ignore everything you say to me. Have you not noticed how negatively your words affect me? I mean, you called me a fucking slut. When I doubt myself, I don’t hear my own voice in my head. I hear yours!” Betty sobbed while she picked up her bags.  

 

Alice was now crying as Betty expressed the depression she had been silently suffering from. “So, I’m sorry. I’m sorry if I’m disappointing you. I’m sorry I don’t like pink and I like guys who you wouldn’t approve of. I’m sorry if I wasn’t what you had hoped for. I’m sorry if I wasn’t good enough for you and if I wasn’t capable of fulfilling your expectations but I can’t stay here.”

 

Alice released a sob and covered her face as the tears poured out of her eyes. Hal stood by her side in silence as he looked down at the carpet in shame. “Betty, I am so sorry I put you through this… I am so sorry… I am so sorry.” Her mother kept repeating the four words as she bawled into her hands. She hadn’t meant to do this to her daughter. She hadn’t meant to hurt her, but yet she had. What kind of mother had she become? What kind of awful family were they?

 

“I have to go,” Betty told them quietly.

 

“What happened to you? Why are you suddenly so hostile and hateful?” Hal asked as she went to walk away.

 

Betty looked at him, “Hateful? Hostile?” She scoffed. “I am neither. I am being honest. You two have hurt me and neither of you have even stopped to think about how I may be feeling.”

 

Hal sighed, “But why didn’t you come to us?”

 

“Why didn’t I come to you guys?” Betty set her bags down, “You two would not have done anything to help me. I would have been shipped off to the Sisters of Quiet Mercy because you would have thought my feelings were overly dramatic and rash!”

 

Hal shook his head while he hugged Alice in hope to lessen her tears, “We would have listened. We don’t like having secrets with you, Betty. I mean, I noticed you have been upset the past few months, but you said it was because of Polly.”

 

“That’s because it was personal. I didn’t feel it was appropriate to talk about with my parents.” Betty felt her tone start to become erratic while her patience was being tested.

 

“Well, you keep saying we wouldn’t understand. How are we supposed to understand how you feel if you won’t communicate with us?! So, why don’t you start with why you have been so secretive the past few months!” Hal insisted while standing up to challenge Betty’s argument. 

 

Betty raised an eyebrow challengingly, “Okay. You want to know everything?” The two of them nodded, “I was sleeping around with a Southside Serpent and he broke up with me. Right in our backyard.” Hal tried to say something, but he seemed to have lost the ability to form coherent sentences. “Yeah. I was messing around with a leather-backed gang member. I caught feelings for a motorcycle riding rebel. The type of guy you two would  **_never_ ** want me to bring home.” Both of her parents looked as if they had seen ghosts.

 

“A Serpent?!” Alice sobbed and reached out for her daughter, “Betty, please, let’s talk about this! Please, let us try to understand why you’re acting out!”

 

Betty sighed bitterly, “This is not me acting out. I am not your perfect, pure little girl anymore. You don’t know as much as you think you do. What I told you wasn’t even the tip of the fucking iceberg, but you don’t deserve to know any of that.”

 

Her parents were frozen in shock at their daughter being so straight to the point and honest. She picked up her bags and proceeded to walk out of her pastel pink childhood bedroom. 

 

Behind her she heard her father explode in anger, “No one in this family will have relations with a Serpent! You hear me, Elizabeth?! We do not allow Serpent blood in this family!” He came to her doorway and shouted at her as she descended the staircase, “If you stay with that Serpent then… then… Then you are out of this family! Do you hear me, Elizabeth?!”

 

She closed the front door behind her and leaned against it as she released a breath she hadn’t realized had been trapped in her lungs. Betty put her suitcases down and sat on the top of it as she tried to control the nervous shaking of her hands and the growing tension in her chest. 

 

Betty felt a panic attack creeping up on her and she couldn’t stop it. Soon she was hyperventilating. Betty couldn’t believe she had been so harsh with her parents. She had never stood up for herself that way. Once she had started talking the words wouldn’t stop pouring out of her. It was like all the anger and sadness that had been locked up from the past years exploded from her and she couldn’t tell if she was relieved or even more stressed now that she had exposed herself the way she had.

 

She took a deep breath and released it slowly and repeated until the tightness in her chest had ceased. When she was ready she carefully stood up and loaded her bags into the passenger's seat of Jughead’s truck. The temperature had dropped since she had arrived and she was now wishing she had gloves to cover her pale hands.

 

“Betty?” Archie’s voice cut through the frigid air as he ran out of his house in his usual jeans and a cozy red sweater. “Holy shit, you’re okay?!” He pulled her into a hug as soon as she was within arms reach. 

 

Betty was taken by surprise and tensed in his arms, “Of course, I am, Arch. What’s wrong?”

 

Archie stepped away from her feeling that he had overstepped a boundary, “What’s wrong?” He repeated in disbelief, “You never showed up to the dance last night! Do you know how fucking terrified I was??” Archie paused, “Are you okay? Your eyes are bloodshot…” He looked at her house then back at her.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry. Something came up and I ended up staying the night at Cheryl’s house.” Betty’s foot made shapes in the snow under her feet. “And I’ll be okay, um, but I’d prefer not to talk about it.” 

 

Archie nodded, “Okay, well, how did the exchange go last night?” He noticed the bags in the car beside her. “What’s with the bags? Is that Jughead’s truck? What the hell is going on?” Archie looked at her confused.

 

Betty sighed. “Last night the Ghoulies kidnapped me. I was lucky and Jughead was there and he got me out of there.” Betty ignored the look of concern on Archie’s face. “The Ghoulies have an eye on me now, so I’m living somewhere else for a little while. I’ll still be at school, obviously, but just living somewhere different.”

 

Archie hesitated, “Is Jughead living with you?”

 

“Yeah, just until he knows the Ghoulies aren’t a threat to my safety anymore. He’s letting me use his truck because he has his motorcycle.” Betty felt a small smile creep onto her lips at the thought of him but then she promptly shut the thought down. “I should probably get going. I’ll see you tomorrow at lunch, right?”

 

“Yeah,” Archie nodded, “I’m really glad you’re safe, Betty. I mean, you’re one of my oldest friends and to lose you would have been devastating.”

 

Betty grinned, “Oh, please, you can’t get rid of me that easily, Arch.” She climbed into the truck and left Archie and her home behind her. She felt terrified. She felt anxious. She felt abandoned. Somehow amongst all those feelings, she also felt free. 

 

***

 

The size of the mansion made Jughead nervous and he wasn’t sure why. He felt as if he could easily get lost if he wanted to get a late night snack. Jughead also felt odd being with Cheryl when Betty wasn’t around. He didn’t know if Cheryl’s flirting had been genuine or if he was just trying to help him out. He kinda felt like she was sincerely trying to come onto him, it was probably the seductive way she was dressing and the lustful look in her eyes that made him uncomfortable.

 

“Hey, Cheryl, I’m back!” Jughead looked around the fridge after a brief shift at his chop shop and a long day at the construction site. 

 

Cheryl entered the kitchen moments later in an eye-catching dark cherry red dress that hugged her every curve and dipped enough to give others a teasing peek at her cleavage. Her waist was accentuated by a black belt and her legs were long by the heeled thigh high boots she wore. “Oh, Jughead,” she purred, “I didn’t hear you come in. How was the day making your delectably fit body even fitter?”

 

Jughead laughed uncomfortably, “Um, it was good. Thanks?” He closed the fridge with his foot while he pulled away with full hands. He placed the meats, cheeses, lettuce, and condiments onto the pristine counter.

 

As he went to open the bread bag, Cheryl rose her perfectly manicured eyebrow at him, “Did you wash your hands?” Her nose wrinkled when he paused to think then promptly went to the sink and turned on hot water. “God, I hope your hands are clean before you put them on Betty. Infections aren’t fun for either party, my friend.”

 

Jughead face turned the same shade as her dress as he dried off his hands, “Betty and I aren’t together.”

 

“Oh, please,” Cheryl scoffed, “You two aren’t fooling anyone. I mean, you may be on a break, but I can see the way you two are pining after one another.”

 

“I don’t think we’re getting back together, Cheryl. We broke up a couple months ago.” Jughead started to assemble his sandwich as she made her way over to him and perched herself near him on the counter.

 

Cheryl inspected her freshly painted nails for any smudges, “Love usually prevails. I mean, just because you placed a mountain between the two of you doesn’t mean the both of you won’t eventually go crazy and climb it just to get back to one another. Love makes you do crazy things.”

 

Jughead rolled his eyes and looked at her, “Look, I had to break up with her. If I stayed with her then the Ghoulies would have come after her.”

 

“The Ghoulies are already after her… dating her would hardly make a difference. That’s hardly a good excuse. So just go be with her.” Cheryl smiled innocently and fluttered her eyelashes.

 

“It’s not that easy. Love isn’t that easy.” Jughead released an exasperated sigh, “Life isn’t a damn Taylor Swift album.”

 

“You are such a drama queen,” Cheryl pointed out. He looked at her surprised, “Life can be whatever the hell you want it to be. I can name like five Taylor Swift songs that related to your situation and I barely know you!”

 

Jughead shook his head, “Please don’t tell me them-”

 

“Love Story, Sparks Fly, State of Grace.” She paused and thought for a second then snapped as realization dawned on her as Jughead took a bite of his sandwich, “Wildest Dreams, definitely, and Don’t Blame Me.”

 

He swallowed, “Oka-”

 

“And All Too Well when you broke up with her,” she interjected.

 

“Well-” Jughead tried to continue on.

 

“And once you guys get back together probably like Call It What You Want or Mine.”

 

“Are you done?!” Jughead huffed. “That was more than five.”

 

“Or Ours.” Cheryl grinned at his annoyance, “Okay, I’m done now. What I’m saying is your life  _ can  _ be a Taylor Swift song. I mean, not all of them have happy endings, but they all have one thing in common.”

 

Jughead skeptically raised his eyebrow, “Mhm, like what? Overly romanticized ideas of love? Proof that your heart will break repetitively if you put yourself out there as much as she does.” 

 

“No, that you too can have a one of a kind love if you have the balls to try and if you stop being such a damn Negative Nancy.”

 

Jughead was quiet for a second. “Since I’m a boy can you call me a Negative Ned instead?”

 

Cheryl hopped down from the counter, “Nope. Now grow a pair and get your girl back.” Cheryl smiled as she watched Jugheads ears turn pink when she called Betty his girl.

 

“Getting her back won’t be easy… I really hurt her. I messed up something that could have been amazing. Would have been amazing.” Jughead nervously tapped a beat with his fingers against the countertop as he gnawed on his bottom lip, “I don’t think she’ll trust me again.”

 

Cheryl whistled lowly, “You must have really messed up then because Betty Cooper is many things, but she has never been one to hold grudges.”

 

“Well, trust me. After what I put her through and how hurt she was in the car, she won’t be forgiving me any time soon.” 

 

Cheryl shrugged, “Rewrite the stars. Forget the Ghoulies, forget the Serpents. Forget everything that’s pushing you two away from each other and go for it. Your problems may not heal overnight, but I see the way you two look at each other and it warms my stone-cold heart.” Cheryl walked to the kitchen door, “Just because you two have obstacles, it doesn’t mean you can’t overcome them together.” Cheryl walked out of the kitchen, leaving him alone with his sandwich and his thoughts.

 

Jughead had tried his best to bury his feelings of sadness and longing after he and Betty parted ways. Some days were better than others. Some days he wouldn’t think about her, but then the next he found himself standing in the middle of his kitchen with an empty feeling in his chest that only she could fill. He tried his best to tell himself that he was just missing JB, but he knew that wasn’t the case when he saw her in that basement.

 

When he saw her… something clicked. He couldn’t explain it, but suddenly he was overwhelmed with too many complex emotions to count. He may have been fuming and ready to pummel Malachi, but when the thought of her tied up with Malachi’s lips on hers crossed his mind he was suddenly terrified for her safety. Once they had gotten to the car the feelings didn’t stop, they kept coming. He wanted to hold her until the sun rose, but the way they were arguing was so aggressive and hateful that he could feel the wound the heartbreak left being torn back open. 

 

It wasn’t until Jughead had laid down in the guest room Cheryl had been generous enough to let him borrow that he realized how much he truly cared for Betty. He didn’t just like her. He was head over heels for the woman. She brought the light into his life that he thought was long lost. She was able to make him feel more alive than he thought was possible. He didn’t know what kind of spell she had him under, but he couldn’t get enough of her. Jughead wished that she felt the same way towards her.

 

She had a right to be hurt, though, Jughead knew that. He hadn’t been a gentleman. He had been a complete ass. He had made love to her then tossed her aside as though she’d meant nothing. Of course that wasn’t how he felt at all. They had only been together a few times, but he already felt as if she hung the moon, decorated the sky with stars, galaxies, and dedicated the whole piece of artwork to him. He didn’t know where such strong feelings had come from. Honestly, he didn’t know he was capable of feeling so strongly about a woman. All he knew was that he was in far too deep to run away now.

 

His thoughts were interrupted by the breathtaking blonde making her way through the kitchen to get to her room. She moved with purpose and with a bag in each hand along with a backpack slung over her two shoulders. He could already tell that Betty was upset about something, emotion wasn’t hidden very well on her face. “Hey, Blondie,” She stopped mid step and he could tell he had interrupted her in the middle of an important thought. “Eventful day at the Cooper household?”

 

Betty sighed and sat her bags down next to the island counter and sat in a chair across from him, “Well, I’m pretty sure my parents disowned me.”

 

Jughead’s face softened, “Coop, I’m sorry. That’s awful.”

 

Betty nodded, “Yeah, so now I don’t have a family… I mean, I have my sister, but she lives in New York City.”

 

“Hey,” His hands held her shoulders tightly, “You have me and Cheryl and Archie.” Jughead ducked to find her eyes that were fixated on the ground, “We are here for you.” She tried to smile, but it wasn’t very convincing, “I am here for you, Betty. I won’t leave you hanging, ever.”

 

Betty locked eyes with him and her voice sounded meek, “Promise?”

 

His hands slid from her shoulders to her hands, “I swear. I will  _ always  _ be here for you.”

 

Betty opened her mouth to say something, but stopped herself and simply hugged him. They stayed there, just like that and focused on nothing else but the warmth of each others embrace.

 

***

 

The last time Betty had been scared of the dark was when she was six. Her babysitter had been downstairs watching a horror movie while the Cooper girls were supposed to be upstairs sleeping. Well, Betty Cooper wasn’t one to go to sleep so easily. She snuck downstairs and silently watched the scary movie from the top of the staircase. However, as soon as she saw a gush of blood and a demon crawl out of the wall she ran upstairs and slept in Polly’s bed for a week with the covers above her head.

 

Now here she was lying underneath her covers having an anxiety attack while the wind whistled through the trees and a blizzard rolled through Riverdale. Betty hadn’t slept well the night they arrived at Cheryl’s and she wasn’t sleeping well now either. She couldn’t get the image of Malachi’s haunting smile and intimidating green eyes out of her head. It was terrifying. 

 

Once she had finally calmed herself down, she timidly peeked her head outside of the comforter and laid back to relax in her bed and listened to the owls hoot outside of her window She stared up at the ceiling and sighed. Betty knew she was being overly paranoid, she couldn’t help it. Maybe it was the way the trees brushed against her window with every breeze. Maybe it was the intimidated feeling Cheryl's large house gave her. She considered possibly sleeping with her light on.

 

She froze when she heard a creak from the other side of her room, it was her bedroom door. She noticed the owls were quiet and wind had suddenly calmed. There was no noise. Just her breathing and the continuous creaking of the door until it finally stopped when the knob hit the wall. Betty bit her lip to try and keep herself tame even though she could feel her adrenaline spiking and her fear pumping through her veins. She eventually worked up the courage to sit up and take a glance around the room.

 

She squinted as she sat up and looked around the room with vision that hadn’t fully adjusted to the dark. Betty felt her breath hitch when she saw that sinister smile in the dark corner.  _ Malachi _ . Suddenly, her lungs were swept of air and she was gasping in terror as he walked closer to her with his eyes fixated on her and his smile wide and wicked. Betty tried to speak, but words just became lodged in her throat. She tried to scream, but it was hopeless.

 

He reached her bedside and sat next to the petrified blonde. She heard him whisper as he gently pushed her back onto the bed and looked at her hungrily, “Oh, Precious, you don’t know how much I’ve missed you.” She tried to thrash away from his touch and cry for Jughead to help her as Malachi covered her mouth and held her down with his own body. He pulled a knife from his pocket and held the cold blade to the hot skin of her bicep while he climbed on top of her, “Shhh, you’re mine, remember? There’s no need to call for that Snake.” She felt the blade dig in and screamed in pain as blood drew and he carved his sketches into her. His eyes became crazed while he hovered above her and he moved the knife to her throat, “Good night, Precious.”

 

Betty was soaked in sweat when she bolted awake and collided with an apprehensive Jughead sending him fumbling backwards. They both cursed in pain at the forceful contact of their foreheads. “Betty, are you okay?” He quickly dismissed his pain and hurried back to her side. She was clutching her throat as she sobbed and held her head to her knees that were pulled to her chest. Jughead pulled her into his lap and rocked her back and forth until her sobs turned into whimpers and whispered into her ear repeatedly, “It’s okay, baby, you’re safe now… All of it is over… None of it was real… Shhh, deep breath. I got you.” 

 

Betty shook her head and buried her face into his bare chest as her tears poured down her face “He- He got me, Jug. Mal… Malachi got me and he hurt me.”

 

Jughead shook his head while his hand cupped her neck and held her close, “It was a dream, Betts. I won’t let him hurt you, ever.”

 

“He… He had a knife and he carved things into my skin…” Betty shook her head as if she was trying to convince herself that it truly was just a nightmare. “He called me his, but I’m not his. I don’t want to be his, Jug!” She calmed down as he rocked them back and forth. Eventually, she looked up at him timidly, “How did you know I was having a nightmare?”

 

Jughead sighed and ran his hands through her hair soothingly, “I heard you screaming in your sleep and then when I came in you were thrashing around and calling for help and crying in your sleep. You sounded so desperate and helpless… It was scary, Betts. It was so hard to wake you up.” He wiped the tears from her flushed cheeks and looked at her up and down, “You’re covered in sweat… Do you want to shower? Maybe it could help calm your nerves?”

 

Betty nodded slowly and stood up from his lap, “Yeah, I think it will.” She took in a soothing breath and released it slowly. Jughead took that as his cue to leave so he headed for the door but stopped when she grabbed his hand. “Jug, wait,”  He turned to face her and her cheeks grew pink as she released his hand, “Would you, um, stay in the bathroom with me while I shower?” His eyes grew wide and she quickly reassured him, “It’s just... if you’re in there then I'll feel safe because I know you won’t let anyone hurt me… Please, Jug?” Her voice cracked. 

 

His heart sunk at the desperation in her eyes as she attempted to put on a brave face. Jughead managed a small smile, “Yeah, sure.” He followed her to the large bathroom and waited outside the door.

 

Betty turned on the water and adjusted it to the temperature she liked. She undressed as she waited for the water to warm then stepped behind the frosted glass doors. She was worried that Jughead would be able to see her naked body through the glass, but she realized that the blurred design would only show her silhouette. Her voice cut through the door, “You can come in now.” 

 

Jughead walked in and steam was already billowing from the shower with her inside. “Jesus!” Jughead sat on the floor with his back against the bathroom cabinet, “Why is your water so damn hot?”

 

“I’m always super cold,” Betty smiled as she began to wash her hair.

 

“Ya know… I could help warm you up.” Jughead grinned to himself.

 

A laugh bubbled out of her chest as she shampooed her hair, “I wouldn’t mind that, but this is what you wanted, Juggie. Ya know, for us to be apart.”

 

Jughead gnawed on his lip as his eyes traced over her silhouette, “I mean, I never really wanted to be away from you, Betts.”

 

Betty nodded and rinsed her hair, “I know you didn’t.”

 

Jughead’s lips curved into a grin, “Hey, Princess?”

 

“Yeah, Juggie?” Her stomach twisted and fluttered at their use of nicknames. She didn’t know why the smallest things could make her go crazy around him. She ran her hands through her hair as the water fell from the showerhead and rinsed the soap from her hair and sent it running down her body.

 

“I want to be with you,” Jughead admitted to her as he watched her from the otherside of the glass.

 

She grinned and giggled, “You know I want to be with you too, Jug.”

 

Jughead smiled at the sound of her giggle and he nervously played with his hands, “I like, really  _ really  _ like you, Betty. I’m sorry that I put so much distance between us and I wish I hadn’t let the Ghoulies stop me from seeing you.”

 

Betty was quiet for a moment as she washed her body with a loofa. Jughead couldn’t tell what she was thinking about, but he wished he could have. “So, what’s stopping you now?” 

 

Jughead froze for a second as the water turned off and he wondered if he had heard her right. She reached out from the glass and struggled to grab a towel. Jughead chuckled when he noticed her struggling to reach the towel. He stood up and covered his eyes as he grabbed it and handed it to her, “Ya know, I’ve seen you naked. You don’t have to hide from me.”

 

Betty took the towel from him and wrapped the soft cotton around her body. “I never said you couldn’t look.” Her hands gently wrapped around his wrists and lowered his hands from his eyes. She closed the gap between them by pressing her body into his, “It seems that you’re still putting a whole lot of distance between the two of us even though the Ghoulies don’t matter to our relationship anymore.”

 

Jughead didn’t know why his hands were suddenly palmy and why his mouth had become dry. “So you do want to start seeing me again?”

 

Betty playfully rolled her eyes, “Jug, I never stopped wanting to see you... It just hurt when you said all those things, even if they were lies.”

 

His gaze switched between her lips and her own hypnotizing eyes, “I’m sorry, Betts-”

 

Betty grinned and cut him off, “Babe, I forgive you. Now stop apologizing all the time and make it up to me.” 

 

Jughead smirked and dipped his head down to her shoulder and allowed his lips to ghost over her silky skin that smelled like her signature lavender and cedarwood while his hands gripped her towel covered waist and held her closer to him, “You know you have school in the morning, right?” 

 

Betty laughed while she sighed happily at the feeling of his slightly chapped lips against her smooth skin. She tilted her head to give him better access to her neck and shivered as one of his hands came up from her waist to cup her breast. “You worry too much.” She let the towel fall from her body and gather at her feet. “I’ve craved your touch for weeks,” Betty placed a kiss under his ear before she let her teeth sink into the lobe of his ear then whispered to him, “My hands don’t compare to yours.” Jugheads hands dropped to her butt as he released a gravely groan, “Yours are much better at getting the job done.” 

 

Jughead flipped her around and sat her on the counter. His mouth attacked her neck and his hands explored the curves that he had so badly missed. Jughead pulled her close to him so his hard length was pressed into her core and bit his lip at the surprised gasp that left her lips at the teasing sensation. He wanted to make up for their lost time and it seemed that she did as well. Her breathing was becoming heavy and her hands clutched at his back as the tension in her core tightened. Open mouthed kisses trailed from her neck to her chest where he sucked a bruise on the top of her breast and bite his way to her nipple where he took one in his took it in his mouth then released it with a pop.

 

Jugheads mouth continued to mark her delicate skin while his hand made its way up her thigh and teasingly ran a finger through her quivering slit. He was mesmerized by how  _ wet  _ he could make her. “Jug, please, I need you,” Her head rolled back as he sucked and bit at her breasts. Her voice was breathy, “Please, Juggie!”

 

Jughead smirked and traced her jaw with the tip of his thumb. His thumb stayed placed under her chin, “Princess, you know I love it when you beg.”

 

Betty smiled when she heard him call her ‘Princess’ and cupped his jaw and pulled his mouth back onto hers and kissed him passionately, her tongue immediately curling around his. She pulled him close so their bare chests were flesh with one another and she could feel his heartbeat trying to escape from his chest. Betty caught his lower lip between her teeth and drew it out with a mischievous glint in her eyes and released it with a challenging raise of her eyebrow. 

 

“Fucking minx,” He murmured as his adrenaline pumped harder through his veins and he picked her up and carried her the short distance to her bed. Jughead laid her down at the foot of the bed and began to kiss up her thighs. “Baby girl, you’re in for one hell of a night.” Betty bit her lip at his words then moaned as he began to firmly circle her clit without forewarning. He slid a finger inside her and allowed it to pump and curl inside of her. “Fuck, how are you always so tight?” His speed began to pick up and his name slipped from her pretty pink lips and he smirked in pride, “Betts, tonight I’m going to make up for all our lost time.” His fingers were just as she remembered, calloused, large, and mind blowingly talented.

 

Betty’s mouth fell open as he replaced his fingers with his tongue. Her mewls were music to his ears as his tongue massaged her clit. Her hips rolled into his mouth as she tried to ride his tongue. His large hands reached up and wrapped around her hips to keep her from squirming. His tongue drew patterns across her clit while he brought his fingers to her core and pumped steadily until her toes curled and her eyes rolled back and her release coated his fingers and her moans filled the room. Before her breathing could attempt to settle she pulled him to her and rolled them over so she was on top. She stood up and grinned giddily as he stared up at her in surprise at the sudden switch of power. Betty hooked her fingers in the bands of his boxers and pulled them down his legs then tossed them over her shoulder. She made her way back onto the bed and threw one leg over his waist to straddle him as if they had done it a hundred times before. Her hands traced over his cheek bones then fell to his chest then outlined the definition in his arms, admiring every curve and dip his body had. She slowly kissed down his jaw and his hands palmed up her ass and the curve of her spine. Betty kissed up his jaw, “God, I missed this.” 

 

She broke away from his jaw and went in to kiss him and he smiled and sat up to met her halfway. Their kiss was mostly teeth and tongue and lastly only a few moments before Betty put a had on his chest and pushed him back onto the mattress. He smirked wickedly, “You sure you can handle having the control, baby?” Betty playfully rolled her eyes as she aligned him to her center and sunk onto him. Their moans filled the room, “I think I can handle it. The real question is-,” She shifted and somehow he sunk in even deeper. He sat up and pressed his forehead to hers as his breathing started to become harsh from the overwhelming pulse of pleasure that was racking their bodies. “-How long will the two of us last?” She finished with a devilish smile. 

 

The room was hot and humid as their hips found rhythm and Betty continued to bounce on top of him, “I love how you ride me. Fuck!” His voice was thick with lust as his grip went from her breasts to her hips. He lifted her off of him and flipped her over so her stomach was on the bed and he got up and approached her from behind, “I think you’ll love this even more, Princess.” Without warning he slid himself into Betty and the moan that left her body could have made him come right then and there. She lay beneath him with her fingers gripping the sheets underneath them in pleasure. He kept one hand around her hip in a bruising grip and the other snaked around her waist to find her heat dripping in want. His fingers slid through her slit and began to massage her clit which made his name and a few expletives escape Betty’s lips. He pulled out until his tip was the only part of him left in her and he leaned over her back and bit the base of her neck as he slid himself back into her with a single stroke making them both howl from pleasure. As his pace picked up and he pounded into her at a rougher pace than they were both used to, he hand came forward from her heat and tangled itself in her hair as if it were a ponytail. When she groaned in pleasure, he smirked, “You like that, baby girl? “ She eagerly nodded and begged for him to keep going as he looked down on her with eyes that were thick with lust, “Fuck, I know you like it. When I first met you, I knew you were going to be a saucy little minx.” 

 

His grip tightened and he pulled her back to him so she was sitting up from the mattress with her back flush with his chest. His hand came back around and found her clit then rubbed deep circles into her. Bettys head fell back onto his shoulder while her hands came up behind him and tangled themselves in his hair. The whole experience was too much for her body to handle. The way her hips were lifting and connecting perfectly in time with his was pure bliss and the sound of their hot and bothered breath in each others ear helped her tiptoe the edge of her release. Jugheads hand unlatched from her bruised hip and gently wrapped around her neck and added the perfect amount of pressure to make her clench around him. Her mouth opened in a silent scream as her orgasm shook her body and a few moments later he came inside her with a deep groan. They fell back onto the mattress their chests heaving and the sound of skin hitting skin mixed with their moans echoed in their ears. Betty took a deep breath to steady her heartbeat and suddenly she was crying.

 

He sat up and rolled over on his side urgently as he brought his hand up to cup her cheek, “Are you okay? Betts, I’m sorry, I should have been more careful.” His face was pained as he wiped away her tears, “I… I am so sorry I pushed you too far-” He was cut off by her lips on his. 

 

She kissed him briefly then broke away and shook her head, “No, no! It wasn’t anything you did, I loved every second of it!” Her eyes searched his and she almost looked scared, “Jughead, I love you.” His eyes widened, “I love you, I wanted to say it earlier in the kitchen because I realized that… I realized that whenever I’m with you my heart swells and you make me feel happier than anyone else has.” Her eyes became watery and her voice became unstable as he stared at her with a boyish grin beginning to play on his lips “You make me feel loved and appreciated and special. You mean more to me than some dumb turf war. I want to be with  _ you,  _ because...” Betty ran a hand through her hair then let her hand fall into her lap as she stared into his eyes, “Because I love you, Jughead Jones.” His lips attacked hers and she leaned back into the pillows as her hands cupped his cheeks while his lips moved in time with hers.

 

“Elizabeth Cooper,” He smiled breathlessly after their kiss and rested above her, “I love you too.” Jughead placed a firm kiss on her forehead  before he leaned his forehead on hers. Betty’s cheeks blushed rouge and her fingers played with a curl that hung free from his messy mane while he leaned down to her ear, “My name is Forsythe Pendleton the Third, by the way.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Feel free to leave a comment, kudos/bookmarks, or follow @xxbettysgirlxx on Tumblr! Thank you for reading xx


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